Turnabout from Doubt
by MadFox32
Summary: Won 3rd in CR's OC contest! Our favorite lawyers found out what trust really meant as they faced their doubts and found that a better tomorrow was just a turnabout away. Now, they get to relax. Right? Cykes. Our ace attorneys find that doubt is harder to uproot than it seems as they meet the one who started it all- the prosecutor who sentenced Blackquill to death. Chaos ensues.
1. Chapter 1

Hey, MadFox here with a brand new story! (Well, new for you guys. I've been done with this chapter for two weeks). is holding an OC contest, and I'm entering with 4 OC's- Prosecutor Amber Barnett, her little brother Dylan Barnett, her detective Keith Aiden, and her co-worker, Adrianna Means. This story has plenty of returning characters, including Kay, Gumshoe, Ema, Klavier, Maggey, and more.

I hope you all enjoy this story, I'm really proud of it! :)

* * *

~Chapter 1~

POV: Athena

A pair of smiling brown eyes looked up at me distantly from a picture on my desk, and I took out my pen. **Victim: **_**Clay Terran. **_

"How's that paperwork coming along, Athena?" my boss called.

"It's just as boring as usual," I grumbled, barely awake enough to meet his amused gaze. _It's a bit sadder this time, though. _

He didn't seem to care much about my response. "We've got a defense request. Two, actually."

"Really? How are we going to manage that?"

"There _**are **_three lawyers in this office. One is a murder case, and the other is Aura's case… For false imprisonment. I was thinking that Apollo could take Aura's case, and the two of us could work on the murder."

"Do you think that I could take Aura's case?" An inexplicable determination rose up inside of me: All I knew was that I absolutely HAD to take that case, and I'd never had reason to doubt my instincts before.

My boss looked at me uncertainly. "Alone?! Are you sure? You were… Struggling a bit the last time."

"I'm positive. I know I can do it! Plus, you and Apollo haven't ever investigated together, have you?"

"We haven't. ...It's fine by me, I believe in you. You'll need Apollo and Aura's seal of approval on this one, though… But I doubt you'll have a problem with that. The only thing that worries me is that the prosecution…" He paused, scratching his chin in thought. "Do you know the name Amber Barnett?"

"Huh… It sounds familiar, but I don't know who she is."

"She prosecuted against Simon Blackquill, and got him his death sentence."

"No way!" I gasped. "I… I think I remember her…" Visions of a young woman shot through my memory: Platinum blonde hair, striking brown eyes, and a voice that shook with a web of emotions tangled beyond recognition.

"She reminds me of another prosecutor I know… Short, cute, and terrifying." My boss smirked.

"She didn't seem short to me," I replied, deep in thought. "Although I guess I was eleven."

"Ha, you're not exactly tall yourself."

"I'm not short! My height is completely normal for a girl my age! And I'm still growing!"

"I'll believe it when I see it." My boss laughed, and I glared at him. "Well, you should probably work on your case… You could talk to Aura in the detention center, and Trucy, too."

"Uh… Who's going to be the detective? You know, since Detective Fulbright was a phony."

"I'd assume it would be Prosecutor Barnett's assigned detective, wouldn't it?"

"And who's that?"

"Detective Aiden."

"I've never heard of him… I guess I'll just have to meet him, huh?"

"Probably." He smiled, and I grinned back with twice the enthusiasm.

"I'll see you later, Boss!" With that, I headed off to the detention center, leaving behind my unfinished paperwork. Apollo could do it later.

(O)

"Well, look who it is. It's nice to see that the Princess decided to visit." Aura smirked.

"I'm glad to be here. I'm going to be your take on your case, if that's ok."

"Just you?" she asked, her face taking on a more serious look.

"Yeah… Apollo and Mr. Wright are on another case at the moment."

"I don't mind, honestly. I don't regret what I did, and I'm willing to take whatever punishment they might give me."

"You'll be out of here in no time," I promised with a grin.

"You've got to watch what you promise, or you might disappoint. Of course, I'm used to it by now."

"That wasn't a promise, that was a fact," I responded, feeling pretty confident.

"Aura, the prosecutor wishes to speak with you," a voice called. I looked to the back of the cell to see a bailiff standing guard, clearly bored.

"Whatever. Where do you need me?" The guard grabbed her by the wrist as she walked up to him, and the two of them walked out the door. I couldn't help but feel a bit irritated by the fact that she hadn't said goodbye. _That's not how you should be treating your lawyer! _

"Are you her defense attorney?" I turned around to find a man standing behind me, leaning casually against the wall. He wore a short-sleeved dress shirt, a red bowtie, and a pair of jeans.

"Yep!"

"I guess I'll be seeing you around then, kid. I'm the detective on this case." _I'm not a kid! _

"Oh! So you're Detective Aiden?"

"Yeah. And you are?"

"Athena Cykes!"

"Cykes…?" He looked me over curiously. "You proved Blackquill not guilty."

"Uh, yeah. Just yesterday."

"Heh, Amber's really mad. I'd stay away from her if I were you. She doesn't like to be proven wrong, especially when a guy's life is on the line."

"It's better to find the truth, isn't it?"

"She's a pretty logical person… She didn't like all the touchy-feely stuff that went on. She likes cold, hard evidence, and she thinks she had it."

"Humans are too complicated to be understood with fingerprint data and blood charts! Psychology is crucial to figuring out the complexity of criminals!"

"Hey, don't flip out on me. I never said that psych was a bad thing."

"Sorry… I just get mad when people reject what I love the most, you know?"

"Well, I didn't reject it, so you can calm down." _Well, that was rude. _

"**Arrogant jerk!" **Widget bleeped. I blushed.

"Did that thing call me an arrogant jerk?"

"No, no, it… um…"

"It's all right… Most people don't like me much. I'll try not to bother you anymore." He began walking away, and I grabbed him around the wrist.

"Wait! I'm sorry, we're off to a really bad start. I don't think you're really an arrogant jerk."

"Doesn't that thing blurt out your thoughts?" _Is this a well-known fact around the police department now?! _

"It was just a knee-jerk reaction! I don't like it when people tell me to calm down. Sorry, I didn't mean it, uh…"

"Oh… I didn't realize I was being rude. Sorry." He looked at me sheepishly. _Man, this guy needs to hone his people skills. _

"It's fine. So, um… Nice weather we're having, huh?"

"...It's storming outside." _Maybe I could use some people skills honing, too. _

"Heh heh… I was just trying to change the subject."

"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." _I remember hearing that somewhere..._

"So, do you have a better subject?"

"Not particularly. I'd recommend that you leave before Amber gets here. She's usually quick with her interrogations, and she probably doesn't want to see you."

"Is she usually this grumpy?"

"No. She's actually really nice. She just doesn't have a great first impression of you."

"Why not?"

"Like I said, you proved her wrong without much tangible evidence. Stick to the facts, and you'll probably get on her good side… She's not one to hold a grudge."

"I guess that's a good thing, then… I'll try my best."

"Good." He nodded his head, and stood there impatiently. _Oh… He probably wants me to leave. I guess I'm done here, anyway._

"I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yeah. Bye."

(O)

By the time I got back to the agency, I was sopping wet. _Stupid storm. _

"Hey, Thena!" I turned around to find Trucy grinning up at me.

"Hey! Man, it's pouring out there."

"Hm. I usually just have Mr. Hat hold my umbrella for me."

"Heh. I wish Widget could do something like that."

"Did you come from the detention center?"

"Yep. I talked to Aura for a total of thirty seconds, and then I talked to a guy for a while, and came back."

"Ooh, you talked to a guy?"

"Yeah."

"What was his name?"

"Detective Aiden."

"Was he cute?" Trucy looked up at me, bouncing slightly on her toes.

"Heh, a little. He was too old for me, though."

"Aww… That's no fun."

"So, can you tell me anything _helpful_ for the trial tomorrow?"

"Of course! Let's see… Um, what do you need to know?"

"Well, we're going for a false imprisonment plea, so it might be nice if you could tell me about how she treated you guys."

"Is kidnapping the same thing as false imprisonment?"

"Not quite… When you kidnap someone, you have to transport them somewhere. False imprisonment is when you keep someone locked up."

"Oh. Well, we never left the space center, so we weren't really transported."

"That's good for us, then. Did she hurt anyone?"

"Nope. She just locked us in the space center. There were twelve of us, and about fifteen robots. Aura herself stayed and watched us there. There was a bathroom and water and stuff, so nobody was even that uncomfortable."

"Did she threaten to hurt you?"

"Yeah. I actually wrote some stuff down… Which is why the prosecution wants me to testify in court tomorrow."

"Really? What?"

"Uh, one sec." She pulled out her magic panties and dug around for a piece of paper. "Here we go! 'If you don't bring me that little princess, I'll have Hunk of Junk kill all the hostages!'"

"...Ouch. She was willing to kill twelve people just for me."

"You should feel honored," she joked. "Let's see… 'If you don't mind losing hostages, you can take all the time you want.' And, 'I told you I'd give you one hour… I guess it's time to pick one of the hostages… Make all the excuses you want, but you won't get more time. Your daughter is first. The poor thing. She's a little too young to die, don't you think?' and then she said, 'Time's up. Too bad. Any last words you'd like to say to her? '"

"I remember that! Weren't you scared?"

"Not really. She wouldn't kill me. She was good friends with Polly, remember?"

"...Now that I think about it, you're just about the only person that he didn't hate at one point yesterday."

"Exactly! So she wouldn't have killed me. Plus… I have a secret magic trick reserved for situations like this!" She winked.

"Really? What?"

"What do you think the word 'secret' means?"

"Aww, but you can tell me!"

"Nope!" She stuck out her tongue. "Now, anything else you need to know?"

"I don't think so. I need Apollo to sign a document, though."

"Huh? For what?"

"I want his testimony that Aura was aware of the connection between the two of you. If I can prove that she had no intention of killing anyone, she'll be charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony."

"Oh! Yeah, he'll be back in a little while. Him and Daddy left to investigate that crime scene."

"All right. Man, I've never felt so good walking into a trial before!"

"Don't get used to it!" I would have expected a smirk off of Trucy's face, but I could only see her usual, peppy smile. "Oh! Who's the prosecutor?"

"Prosecutor Barnett."

"Barnett? Like, Amber Barnett?" she asked. _Does everyone know this girl?_

"Yeah. Do you know her?"

"Her brother's a friend of mine." Trucy grinned.

"Is he cute?" I asked, a teasing grin on my face.

"Yeah, a little," she admitted.

"Wow! Does your dad know?"

"Heh, a magician never reveals her secrets!" she laughed. "Oh! What time is it?" she blurted out suddenly.

"Uh, 6:43."

"My show at the Wonder Bar is starting in 17 minutes! You want to come?"

"Depends. How much are you going to tell me about this guy?"

"Well, I met him in English class..." she began as we walked out the door.

For the first time in weeks, the atmosphere was cheerful, all sense of impending doom gone.

Little did I know that it would soon come back, strong as ever.


	2. Chapter 2

~Chapter 2~

POV: Amber

"Surely you can't be serious."

"I am serious! And don't call me Shirley."

"Keith."

"Relax, would you? We have 70 dollars and a pair of girls underpants. We're safe as kittens."

"_**Keith**_."

"Let me ask you something, and I'm not trying to be funny here."

"I'm pretty sure you're trying to be funny here."

"Are you sure he's not a midget with a learning disability?"

"If I hear one more movie quote out of you before this trial ends, I'm cutting your salary."

"You need to calm down, kid. It's not even that important of a trial." _Of course he's serious when money's on the line._

"But we're going up against **her**! And you just told me that both of our witnesses are on the defense's side."

"Chill out. You have a solid copy of that one girl's list. It's not like she can lie."

"I'm sorry, it's just that… Our court system is in ruins! It's easy to fight back against forged evidence- it contradicts the real evidence, and it takes a total of thirty minutes to test its authenticity. But when the court allows _feelings _to be used as evidence?! It's unacceptable!"

"She did have concrete evidence in her last trial."

"She had an earring that she claimed came from a moon rock. If the prosecution hadn't been on her side, he would've pointed out that she has no proof of that! Her earring could easily have been made of a cheap stone that was also used in the courtroom."

"Amber… Take a deep breath. Don't judge a kid before you know them."

"...You're right, I'm sorry." _Did I really put an innocent man on death row? Ac_k! No, you couldn't have. All the facts lined up…

"Amber." Keith placed his hands on my shoulders, and looked me in the eyes. "Don't make things more difficult than they already are. Just focus on doing your best in the present, and the past won't matter anymore." I swear he can read my thoughts sometimes.

"But… What if I've sent other innocent people to their deaths?"

"That's not your problem, kid. That's the defense attorney's fault."

"You don't understand… You aren't the one who pounds the final nail in someone's coffin."

"The present is a gift. Unwrap it while you can. You've got a trial in ten minutes, and that woman's guilty. Go for it."

I looked at the detective in the eyes. If it were anyone else, I'd ignore their advice… But I knew that he'd gone through too much to disregard. "All right. I'll even save the wrapping paper, just for you."

"Nah, save it. Maybe you can return some of your old presents that you didn't like."

"I'll need the original packaging, and I doubt they'll give me a refund."

"...You took my cool metaphor, and completely destroyed it."

"That's a prosecutor's job," I replied, laughter just barely rippling through my serious expression. He grinned, and, without a word, I turned and took my place at the prosecutor's bench.

I was ready.

(O)

"Court is now in session for the trial of Aura Blackquill."

"The defense is ready, Your Honor."

"As is the prosecution," I added. I looked over to see my red-haired opponent, looking more confident than I would've expected.

"Very well, then. Ms. Barnett, your opening statement please."

"Twelve individuals were taken hostage in the afternoon of December 20. The prosecution believes that the defendant, Aura Blackquill, is a culprit of aggressive false imprisonment."

"And Ms. Cykes, I assume you believe otherwise?" the Judge asked.

"Well… There's no doubt that she took the hostages. But the defense does not agree that the false imprisonment was aggressive."

"The prosecution has evidence to support their claims, of course. Malice is a form of aggressive false imprisonment, and the prosecution has a decisive witness to prove that the accused did indeed threaten to kill the captives."

"You may call them, if the defense has no objections." I looked over to see a silent attorney, so I responded before she could make something up.

"The prosecution calls Trucy Wright to the stand." A young girl in a magician's costume hopped up onto the stand, wearing a grin as flashy as her outfit. "Please state your name and profession for the record."

"My name's Trucy Wright, and I'm a magician! ...And a high school student."

"Would you please testify regarding the accused's treatment of you?"

"Uh, that's what I'm here for." She grinned. "Well, we were kept in the Space Museum. Aura didn't hurt anybody, but she did threaten to. I have a list of some of the things that she said."

"Did you personally feel threatened by anything that she said?" Ms. Cykes asked. Part of me wanted to object, but I got the feeling it would be overruled.

"Well, most of them were targeted towards me, but I didn't feel very threatened. She's friends with Polly, and Polly cares about me a lot. The fact that she threatened me the most makes me think that she never really was going to kill anybody."

"Did she know about your connection with this 'Polly'?" I asked.

"Polly is referring to my co-worker, Apollo Justice. I have his signature on a document that states that he told Aura about his relationship with Trucy," Ms. Cykes answered. _Huh. She expected this? _"And so, the defense asserts that the defendant had no malicious intent for the captives!"

"Objection!" I yelled, slamming my palm on the bench. "The witness claimed, on the list I'm holding, that the defendant said, 'If you don't mind losing hostages, you can take all the time you want.' Clearly that wasn't directed at the witness alone. Regardless of the defendant's intent, many of the hostages feared for their lives."

"Do you have proof of this?" The judge asked.

"I don't bluff. I have another witness, one who can describe her feelings during the hostage crisis."

"Does the defense object to the current cross-examination ending?" the judge asked, seemingly bored. This presumably wasn't nearly as exciting of a trial as he'd seen yesterday.

Ms. Cykes stood at the defense bench for a moment, flicking that demonic earring. "No objections for now," she decided.

"All right, then. I call Juniper Woods to the stand!" I saw the ginger flinch… Clearly, she was just as surprised as I'd been. _I can't believe that Keith didn't choose our witnesses better. He told me that he'd done a background check! _A moment later, an innocent looking girl took the stand. "Please state your name and occupation for the record."

"I'm Juniper Woods… I'm a high school student."

"Would you tell us about the events that occurred yesterday?"

"Um, yes. I was at the Space Center… In the museum. I was worried sick about my friend…" She looked over to said friend, who seemed to be holding back tears. I didn't like emotional people much. "Well, there were ten other people in there with me. When we were younger, Thena and I had a secret hiding place in the museum, so I stayed there, thinking of her… All of a sudden, a flood of robots came into the room… They were followed by two more, which were holding Trucy, and then Miss Aura came into the room…" Juniper began to cough.

"You're all right, Junie. Keep going."

"She told us to be good, and she stayed in a corner, holding some electric equipment. I think she controlled the robots from there. Everyone in the museum was really scared… Except for Trucy. She seemed pretty excited, actually." _Of course she did. _"She started doing magic tricks for all of us, and it cheered me up a little, but I was still scared. We could hear Aura threatening to kill the hostages from time to time, and we all panicked…" She broke out in another fit of coughing.

"As you can see, the defendant was a source of fear for all of the hostages. Unless you don't trust the word of your best friend?" I challenged, looking Ms. Cykes in the eyes.

"Argh…" She stood in intense thought, but she clearly struggled to come up with anything. _I beat a psychologist in a psychological debate. _I felt a bit proud of myself for that one.

"The prosecution believes that the defendant should receive sixteen months in prison, as the law requires for aggressive false imprisonment… And I don't believe there's any more room for debate."

"Aggressive false imprisonment… That's a felony!" Ms. Cykes cried.

"She took twelve people as hostages," I reminded her.

"Er… I have a question." _Wow, the judge speaks. _

"Go ahead, Your Honor."

"Were any of the hostages younger than 14? The law says something about that, doesn't it?" _You sounded so intelligent… And then you ruined it._

"Yes, Your Honor. However, Trucy Wright happened to be the youngest hostage, at the age of 16. Juniper Woods was 18, and none of the rest were children… Children aren't all that excited by museums to begin with, and there was still a murder investigation going on."

"Ah, I see. I wouldn't want my grandchild to go to a boring site of a murder!" _But you would want them to go to an exciting one? _

"Your Honor, I believe this trial is over."

"I'm inclined to agree… Wow, this is the fastest trial I've judged in a while!" The judge smiled, clearly pleased with himself. "I suppose I can spend some time with my grandchild now. I'm ready to hand down my verdict, if the defense doesn't have any objections."

"Objection!" _Darn it! _Ms. Cykes stood with an outstretched hand, not saying a word.

"What exactly are you objecting to?" I asked.

"I was hoping to come up with a question while I was objecting, Your Honor... I didn't." She looked up to the judge sheepishly.

"Hmm… I feel as if I've heard someone say that before…" He stopped to think.

"Uh, Your Honor? Would you please pass your verdict so that you can spend that time with your grandchild, and the rest of us can get on with our lives?" I asked, impatient to get back to the office.

"Oh! Right. Would the defendant take the stand?" Aura walked up to the stand nonchalantly. "I declare the defendant, Aura Blackquill…"

**GUILTY**

I zoned out as he began to rattle off some ancient judge's code, that involved a higher court and a possible re-trial that I knew this girl would never attempt to do.

"Court is adjourned!"

(O)

"Good job to you sir! Or as we say in our country, Subete ga suchīru samurai hyō!"

"...I don't know what movie that was from, but remind me never to watch it."

"Hmph. I thought everyone had seen the Steel Samurai movie."

"Whatever. That trial was a pain in the neck." I glared at him, and he jumped.

"Hey, I didn't realize that checking the defense's relationships with the witnesses was part of the job. And it's not like you needed it, anyways."

"It did feel good to watch her squirm," I admitted. "Even if it was only for a few moments."

"You should try being a little nicer to her. She's a good kid."

"I don't get that impression."

"Hey, don't forget the innocent until proven guilty rule. The evidence is so far inconclusive."

"... The innocent until proven guilty rule? I've made it through Themis Legal Academy, and I can't say I've heard of it."

"Huh. I thought it was a thing, but maybe I'm wrong," He replied, thinking carefully. "My law teacher was a bit of a nut."

"...We had the same law teacher, Keith. I'm going back to the prosecutor's office… Dylan should be there soon, and I don't trust him alone with Kay."

"Heh, good choice, kid. I might take a while longer… I want to talk to that girl."

"If you weren't ten years older than her, I'd think you were flirting, detective."

"Heh. As if you could pick up on flirting when you saw it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I growled. Keith just walked away laughing.

_I swear I'm cutting his salary._


	3. Chapter 3

~Chapter 3~

POV: Keith

It was funny how she could pick out the smallest inconsistency in a testimony, but she couldn't tell that I liked her after ten years.

I didn't mind all that much, though. Most married couples didn't spend as much time together as the two of us did, and as long as I could hear that rare, adorable laugh, I didn't need anything more.

Besides, there was another girl I needed to see.

"Hey, kid. Nice job in court today."

"A rock could've done better than me." The ginger kid slumped over. _That can't be good for her back. _

"No, you did a surprisingly good job. She wouldn't let you know this, but she was pushing for at least three years at the beginning of the trial."

She jumped slightly, but her face remained in a frown. "It's not like I did much…"

"You proved that there was no intent to kill, to a degree." _Come on, kid. Just take the encouragement._

"I guess." She paused. "Did you want to ask me something?"

"Uh, not really. I just wanted to say something that I didn't get the chance to say yesterday."

"Uh, ok. What is it?"

"I'm sorry for all the crap my awful detective work put you and your friend through all those years ago." I felt a weight lift off my shoulders, though my expression stayed serious.

"I'm sure it wasn't awful. I was too young to understand…"

"No, I don't know why they keep me around. You saw today, both of our witnesses were friends of yours. When we got that confession seven years ago, I barely did my job."

"They don't list everyone's best friends on the background checks, I'm sure. And I don't blame you for anything, trust me."

"Encouragement doesn't really work on me."

"Hey, the past can hurt... I would know. But you can either run from it, or learn from it."

"...Are you trying to cheer me up by paraphrasing a movie quote?"

"I was trying to speak your language… You _did_say that encouragement didn't really work on you."

I laughed. "You're gonna need a bigger boat." She looked at me blankly, and I sighed. "You've watched Jaws, haven't you?"

"Uh, I haven't seen many movies. I lived in the Space Center for half my life, and then I moved to Europe."

I sighed. "You've missed out on a lot of life, kid."

"...Do you call everyone that?"

"Anyone young looking, yes."

"Oh, ok. I was just checking." _Is it that weird to call someone 'kid'? _"It still seems like Amber doesn't like me… Did I do something wrong?"

"Not really. She's struggling with the fact that she sent an innocent man to the grave, and you're a pretty little reminder of that."

"I guess…"

"Like I said before, Amber doesn't hold a grudge. Just give her something else to remember you for."

"I'll try."

"I think I should probably get back to the prosecutor's office… Amber might need me."

"Uh, all right. Thanks for talking with me, I guess."

"No problem." I walked out of the building without another word, and began the short trek back to the prosecutor's office.

I'd always enjoyed walking. I felt a bit warm though, so I pulled off my gray overcoat and tucked it under my arm. I worried about Amber sometimes. She always blamed everything on herself, and I could tell that it hurt. I supposed that I took the blame a lot too, but I'd always deserved it. It wasn't Amber's prosecution that had gotten a false conviction all those years ago, it had been my own failure to ask that little ginger girl those questions.

Maybe that's why I felt led to talk to her now: It was a way for me to fix my past.

That, or I was just bored.

(O)

When I got back to the office, Amber was in a bad mood, so I grabbed my wallet and bought a lunch from the lunch lady. The crime scene lunch had always been my favorite. I ate it with my only two detective friends in the force- Ema and Gumshoe. Gumshoe was in the middle of a huge case, so he didn't have much time, but Ema was bored out of her mind.

"I miss the days when cases weren't so normal and straight-forward," she said suddenly.

"Oh? I thought you hated crazy cases."

"Yeah, but I actually feel useful during them. All these cases have been so easy- there was a confession during my last case, and the man's fingerprints were on the gun. What's the point of having me there?" she complained.

"True. I feel like Amber could do all my detective work for me," I replied.

"Hmph. Gavin could, he just chooses not to," she grumbled. She looked down at her food, and picked up her tray. "Where's my fork?" she asked.

"Huh? I don't know."

"You have it. I know you do. Give it back."

"I don't have your fork!" I cried. She looked at me, clearly not amused. "Did you even get one?"

"I'm pretty sure I did..." She looked at her tray one more time. "Argh, I'll just get another one." She stood up from the table and walked away. I took her fork out of my pocket and put it back onto her tray, and proceeded to eat as nonchalantly as possible.

"Keith... Why is my fork back in here?" She huffed.

"Huh? I didn't do anything. I'm pretty sure you're just delusional. Are you sure your fork was gone to begin with?"

"Keith." She glared at me, and I laughed.

"All this stress is making you crazy," I told her.

"You're making me crazy," she retorted.

_BZZT BZZT_

"Oh, that's my phone," I said, removing my dinosaur flip-phone from my pocket.

**From: Amber**

**Dylan's back from school. He had exams, so he's back early.**

**To: Amber**

**ill b right up**

"See you, Ema. I've got to go upstairs."

"All right, I'll see you." She smirked.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing," she laughed.

I shrugged, and put the lid on my crime scene lunch. "See you later."

"Yeah, see you."

(O)

"Hey, Keith!" Amber's younger brother greeted me as soon as I stepped into the office, and I took a seat next to him on the couch.

"Hey, kid. How was school?"

"Boring. I just had a bunch of exams. But the good news is that I'm on Christmas break now." _Oh, right. It's December 21. _

"Oh no. You can't call it Christmas break, that's insensitive to all of the non-Christians."

"I'm sorry if I offended any Pastafarians," Dylan laughed.

I opened my crime scene lunch and pulled out my fork, only to find that all the tines were bent. "Aww man, what did Ema do to my fork?" I whined.

"What the fork did she do?!" Dylan exclaimed.

"That was awful," I laughed.

"Absolutely terrible," Amber muttered. I looked up to see her working diligently at her desk.

"Amber, your brother just got home. Can't you take a five minute break?"

"I need to finish my paperwork," she mumbled.

"No you don't. Amber, seriously, just calm down and go for a walk or something. I can do your paperwork for you."

She glared up at me, and I met her gaze without backing down. We had a several second long staring contest before she gave up and glanced downwards. "I really just want to work."

"...All right. If you need anything, you can ask me."

"Actually… It would be great if you could take the evidence for this trial down to the basement. Since our trial's over, we can send it over to the police department's evidence room."

"Yeah. Where is it?" I asked.

"Uh... Downstairs?"

"Really, Einstein? I meant the evidence."

"Oh." Amber pointed to a plastic bag on her desk, and I picked it up and walked out the door without a word.

"Wait! Keith!" I poked my head back into the room to find my boss smiling. "Thank you."

"It's not a big deal," I replied, walking out of the office. As soon as my face was hidden from sight, I could feel heat rising to my cheeks- she never smiled, but when she did, she looked amazing. My corny jokes were always aimed towards forcing her lips out of a frown, and though it rarely worked, each one was worth it.

I headed towards the elevator, but there was a large **OUT OF ORDER **sign on it. _That's strange. It was working just fine on my way up fifteen minutes ago. Did I break it or something? _

It hit me then that I was on the twelfth floor. It was going to be a long way down.

(O)

I panted as I stumbled down the final flight of stairs, and realized that the lights in the basement were off. I wasn't going to complain, the whitish-blue lights gave the room a creepy atmosphere. I took out my cell phone and angled it towards the room, trying to see. The light outlined a dark silhouette, that seemed shocked by my presence.

"Heh, did I scare you? What are you doing down here with the lights off?"

"K-keith?!" I recognized the voice instantly, and grinned.

"Jeez, chill out. What are you doing down here?" I walked up next to my friend and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"No! You can't be here!"

"Aww, why no-" My friend shoved me, and I was shocked enough that I stumbled backwards. "What was that for?!"

"Go back upstairs!"

"No, I'm supposed to be down here. What's wrong with you?" I ran over to where she was standing, only to find a bloodied knife and several pieces of paper, and I grabbed her shoulders. "What's going on?"

Suddenly, her arm slipped out of my grasp, and I felt a fist slam into my jaw. I fell backwards, landing on a table behind me with enough force to break it. I moaned, looking up as objects that had been on the table began to slide towards me. I felt a searing pain in the side of my neck as warm liquid began to pour out of the wound.

I saw a pair of shocked eyes meet mine, and a hand rise up to an opened mouth.

And then there was darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

~Chapter 4~

POV: Dylan

"Dylan, Keith is taking forever. Can you check on him?"

"I can."

"Will you?"

"Fine." It was boring lounging around the office, and I needed _something_ to do. I got up off the couch and walked outside, and saw that the elevator wasn't working.

_Huh, it worked fine just a while ago. _I shrugged, and started my trek down the stairs. I was used to the walk by now. I had some special work around the office, and I often accompanied Mr. Edgeworth and Kay up and down the stairs, since Mr. Edgeworth wasn't a fan of the elevator.

When I got to the top of the last staircase, I noticed that the room was pitch-black. _Keith probably hasn't even been down here yet. _I waved my palm along the wall, looking for the light switch. Bluish light poured into the room, and I blinked as my eyes painfully adjusted to the light.

First, I saw a mess. _Someone broke a table… Why do I get the feeling that I'm going to get blamed for this? _I walked closer, and I gasped as I realized that there was blood everywhere. I sprinted next to the table, and found Keith on top of the rubble, a knife cutting into his neck. Without thinking, I pulled it out, and found that there was a large gash in his neck.

"Keith… No..." I whimpered. My brain slowly began to comprehend what was going on, and my heart began to race. "SOMEBODY! HELP!" I screamed.

I heard a rumbling of footsteps as a young girl ran down the steps, accompanied by an older man. Tears began to fall down my face. _Keith is dead… Someone killed him… Keith is dead… _

"Dylan? Dylan, what's wrong?" A pair of blurry green eyes met mine, clearly concerned.

"Wh-what the…?! What in the blazes is going on here?!" I looked up to see Mr. Edgeworth staring at the scene in horror.

"Keith… Keith is dead," I whimpered.

"It's ok…" Kay rested her hands lightly on my shoulders and looked me in the eye. "What happened?"

"I… I just got here… And found him like this…" Kay sat next to me in an attempt to comfort me while I cried.

Mr. Edgeworth's voice rang through the room. "911? We have an emergency…"

(O)

I was sent up to sit with my sister, who sat in shock at the news. No tears fell from her eyes, but there was a deep emptiness in them that I couldn't describe. Neither of us spoke, but our silences were more meaningful than any word.

Kay burst into the room with a grin on her face. "He's alive!"

"What?!" Amber perked up, her intense eyes almost burning holes in Kay's head.

"His heart is beating… He's in a coma, but he's not dead."

"Is he gonna make it?" I asked.

"There's a chance… Not a good one, though." She slumped her shoulders, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. "But there's still a chance."

"How good is 'not good'?" Amber asked solemnly.

"The doctor said that most people in his condition have a twenty percent chance of making it."

"He's pretty strong…" Amber mused. "It's possible."

"Even so, the trial's gonna have to go on without him, according to Mr. Edgeworth. We need to catch the culprit as soon as possible."

"Are there any suspects?" Amber asked, looking determined.

"A detective just got on the scene now. I'm guessing you want to take the case?"

"Whoever hurt Keith is going to pay," my sister confirmed, a dangerous glint in her eyes.

Kay nodded, and ran up the steps to Mr. Edgeworth's office. "That's gotta be a long walk," I commented softly. My sister ruffled my orange hair with her fingers as she looked on nervously.

"I should've let him do my paperwork."

"Amber, it's not your fault."

"If I hadn't been in a bad mood, none of this would've happened!"

I hugged Amber's thin waist, tears slipping down my face for the thousandth time that day. "Amber… You didn't do anything wrong."

I heard her sniffle, and I wondered if she was going to cry. I'd never seen Amber cry once in my entire life. "Dylan… Why do people keep getting hurt because of me?"

That was one question that I couldn't answer.

(O)

"There's no escape route," the detective mumbled, clearly deep in thought. We'd been sitting around for at least an hour as the forensics team swept through the basement.

"What do you mean?" Amber asked.

"Since the basement is, well, underground, there aren't many options in terms of escape routes… Just the elevator and the stairs. We tried to get a guy in through the elevator, but a chain was cut on it. It stopped working roughly ten minutes before the attack, and there's no way of climbing up through the elevator shaft. We checked the security footage on the stairs, and Dylan's the only one who went down there."

"Well, what does that mean?"

"Scientifically speaking? There were two people at the crime scene. One person got assaulted. The other is your brother."

"You can't seriously be suggesting that he did it…"

"He's the only one who could have," Detective Skye rebutted. "Look, honestly, I don't think the kid would do something like that. But there's nobody else it could be. You understand that, don't you?"

"Yes, but-"

"I'm going to have to arrest him. It's not the end of the world; you can always hire a lawyer."

"Please, Detective, just investigate for one more hour. He's all I have left," Amber pleaded.

Detective Skye's eyes filled with sympathy. "I understand how you feel… I do. But if he's really innocent, you've got nothing to worry about."

"In our court system?" My sister's voice was growing more and more panicked. "What lawyer can I even trust?"

"Amber," I interrupted. "I… I want Trucy's agency to represent me."

"Dylan…!"

"The Wright Anything Agency? Mr. Wright represented me once. He did an amazing job," Detective Skye interrupted.

"Please, Amber," I cried. My sister looked me in the eyes, and I could see ten years worth of pain in her eyes. I knew she didn't like Ms. Cykes or Mr. Wright on a personal level... But there was one lawyer that I knew she respected a great deal. "What about Mr. Justice?"

"I… I trust Mr. Justice," I responded softly.

"Does that mean we can hire him?"

"If he's at the head of the defense bench, I… Yes."

I grinned. "Thank you." I hugged her, and as soon as I let go, cold metal handcuffs clicked around my wrists. "Don't worry about me."

"We'll take care of him," Detective Skye added.

"I'll try not to worry too much," Amber replied.

_Too much._


	5. Chapter 5

~Chapter 5~

POV: Amber

The worst part about hiring the Wright Anything Agency was the actual act of hiring them.

I stood in front of the door to the office, feeling uneasy. _What if that magician girl answers the door? Or Ms. Cykes? _I sucked up my nerves and knocked on the door.

The door unlocked with a click, and it was swung open with enthusiasm.

"Prosecutor Barnett?!" A pair of blue eyes widened at the sight of me. _Great. It's the ginger. _

"I need to speak to Apollo Justice," I said, trying to conceal my annoyance.

"Uh, he and Mr. Wright just finished up a trial- Apollo texted me that he won." I caught a sparkle of pride in her eye that I chose to ignore. "They should be back soon… But you can come in."

"Thank you." I nodded my head politely, and she stepped back from the door. The "office" was a mess, strewn with pieces of clothing, stage equipment, and… _Is that spaghetti?! _I sat down on a couch, trying not to touch any of the miscellaneous clothing items.

"So, uh… What brings you here?" she asked, obviously feeling awkward. _That makes two of us. _

"I…" _She's going to figure out eventually. _"I wanted to request Mr. Justice's defense, actually."

"For yourself?"

"No." She didn't need to know the details of the crime, or she would probably want to join Mr. Justice at the defense bench. I knew it would most likely happen anyway, but I wanted to put it off as long as possible.

"Uh, alright… Can I, uh, get you something to drink or something?"

"I'm fine, thanks."

I sat in silence for a few moments when my phone began to buzz. I took it out, and looked at the screen. There was a text from Mr. Edgeworth, and I opened it up.

_**I'm very sorry, Ms. Barnett, but Keith's condition is worsening. He might not make it through the evening.**_

I gasped. _No… No… He can't die. He can't. _

"What's wrong?" Ms. Cykes asked.

"Nothing," I replied, trying to keep my voice steady. "I just received some new details about the case."

_My best friend is going to die._

"Um… Your voice… Something's wrong," the defense attorney commented.

_If Keith dies, then Dylan will be on trial for murder._

"I'm perfectly fine."

_This girl's probably going to take on Dylan's defense for murder._

"There was a burst of sadness when you said the word 'case'..."

"I am perfectly aware of my own emotions; I don't need anyone to tell me how I am feeling. I am **fine**, Ms. Cykes."

"Please, you don't have to tell me anything, but don't run from your emotions."

"What am I supposed to do then, when all emotions seem to do is destroy everyone I care about?!" I yelled, mentally scolding myself for losing my temper.

"You have to face them," she persisted. "If you keep running, they'll catch you when you're at your weakest."

"You don't understand, Ms. Cykes," I replied through gritted teeth. _Calm down. _

"What don't I understand?"

"Everyone who I've ever seen try and fight their emotions always loses. And don't you dare tell me that they didn't fight hard enough."

She didn't respond, but gazed into my eyes instead. "Trust and love win every fight," she said softly, after a few moments of silence.

"Sometimes there is none," I responded, closing my eyes.

"Athena, we're back!" The door of the agency swung open, and a cheerful lawyer stood at the door, grinning. "You should have _seen_Blackquill's fac-" Mr. Justice met my eyes, and his enthusiasm dissolved into professionalism. "You're Prosecutor Barnett, correct?"

"Yes. I wished to speak to you regarding a case."

"Me? Specifically?"

"Yes."

"Oh. ...Alright. So, what brings you here?"

"There was an… _incident_ over at the prosecutor's office several hours ago. A detective was assaulted, and my younger brother was accused of the crime. I came to request your defense."

Mr. Justice turned around towards a figure standing in the doorway. "Mr. Wright? Is that alright with you?"

"I'm fine with that. Athena, do you want to act as his co-counsel?"

"I… I don't think I should." She looked at me uneasily. Everyone in the room stopped and stared at her in complete surprise.

"A-Athena?! Are you sure about that?" Mr. Justice asked, bewildered.

"I think I need a break for a while," she responded softly.

"Even if I wasn't wearing my bracelet, I could tell if you were lying just by looking at Widget. I want you to take this case with me, Athena."

"Is that alright with you, Prosecutor Barnett?" she asked, looking at me hesitantly.

"I see no problem with that." _Not that I'll say out loud, considering that Justice won't take the case without you. _

"All right then, it's settled." Mr. Justice smiled slightly. "All right, what can you tell us about the case?"

"Like I said, a detective was attacked in the basement of the prosecutor's office."

"It wasn't Ema Skye, was it?" a voice called from across the room, that I took to be Mr. Wright's.

"No… It was my detective. Keith Aiden." I tried to keep my voice steady; I couldn't show any sign of weakness, not in front of a psychologist and a human lie detector.

"Oh my goodness!"

"I'm very sorry to hear that." Mr. Justice looked me in the eyes; his eyes looked softer than the professional tone of his voice. I'd heard that his best friend had just been murdered, despite the fact that I hadn't attended 'the trial of the century' (I was quite certain that there had already been five of those just in the past decade). "It would be great if you could describe him for us… You obviously don't have to."

"It's fine," I replied with a nod of my head. "I've known Keith since I was a freshman in high school. He's widely disliked… He doesn't have great people skills."

Ms. Cykes whispered something to Mr. Justice that I didn't catch, and he looked at her and nodded his head. "What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"Uh… He just isn't great at talking to people. That's all there is to it."

"Gotcha," he retorted, smirking slightly.

"Huh?"

"When you said, 'That's all there is to it', your fist clenched." I looked down to see that my fist was, indeed, clenched into a tight ball, and I loosened it instinctively.

"Err… What does that have to do with anything?"

"Your subconscious reacted to your thought, causing you to ball up your fist. Why would thinking of Keith cause you to do that?"

"How should I know?!" I retorted.

"Clenching your fist is a sign of aggressiveness," Ms. Cykes noted.

"Please, stop. I don't like all this psychological probing." I looked at them uncomfortably. "Look… If you really needed to know, Keith had borderline."

Mr. Justice's eyebrows furrowed. "Borderline?"

"It's a personality disorder," the psychologist in the room began to answer. "It's when a person becomes extremely… impulsive. When they snap, they completely lose control."

"Right. Keith is usually very mellow… But when he becomes angry, it's usually bad. When we were sophomores, he chased after a teacher with a meter stick and locked her in the chemistry closet. He almost got expelled, but my legal abilities and… good relationships with the authorities involved lowered his senten- er, punishment, to a month-long suspension."

"That is a bit… Extreme," Mr. Justice agreed.

"He hasn't had a breakdown like that for years, though. He's gotten much better. He's really great, if you get to know him." **_If_**_ you get to know him._

Ms. Cykes nodded. "How long has he been on the police force?"

"Let's see… Seven years. He's one of the most talented detectives on the force." _Though background checks were not his specialty. _"And before you ask, I can't think of any reason that anyone would want to kill him. He wasn't a great people person, and a lot of people avoided him, but nobody outright hated him, especially not the defendant."

"That makes things difficult," Mr. Justice mused. "Do you know who the detective and prosecutor are for this case?"

"I know that Ema Skye is on detective duty. As for the prosecutor, I'm not so sure." _I wonder if Mr. Edgeworth would let me prosecute. I can't see myself as a bystander in this trial. _

"Wouldn't it be Prosecutor Gavin?" Mr. Justice asked.

"Perhaps. But we've lost two detectives in the past two days, so I'm sure that Edgeworth will be busy re-pairing prosecutors and detectives."

"Right, that makes sense." Mr. Justice paused for a moment. "What time is it, exactly?"

"5:11," I responded, taking a quick look at my watch. _I'm assuming that he didn't want the exact second… Though that would be 23… 24… 25..._

"Do you think that your brother would still be in for questioning?"

"Like I said, we aren't quite sure who's prosecuting. I doubt he's being questioned at the moment."

"Hmm… Alright. Athena, do you want to head down to the detention center?"

"Yep! I'm all set!" Ms. Cykes grinned, clapping her fist in her palm.

"Thank you for taking this case. I can assure you that my brother is innocent."

"You're welcome, Prosecutor," Mr. Justice replied with a slight smile.

"See you, boss!" Ms. Cykes called. The door shut, leaving me alone.

"And two remain." Well, not completely alone.

I turned around. "Mr. Wright," I addressed him with a nod of the head.

"I'm sorry for your loss, by the way… I can't even begin to imagine what you must be going through."

"He's not dead yet." I walked out the door without another word.

_This office is much too touchy-feely for my tastes. I don't see how they can afford to be so idealistic when they see murders around every corner._

_These days, trust is a fairytale._

(O)

"Ms. Barnett, please have a seat." The chief prosecutor invited me to sit on a comfortable looking couch, and I obliged. "You had a question to ask me?"

"I want to prosecute Keith's case."

"...You want to prosecute against your _brother_?"

"I can't not be involved in this trial, Mr. Edgeworth. Trust me, if my brother is guilty, I wouldn't let my personal feelings get in the way of the truth. I'd rather have him in prison."

"I understand your feelings… But can't you testify in court, or allow the defense to do the defending? I believe you hired the Wright Anything Agency, did you not?"

"I know they're good… But I don't trust them," I admitted.

"I've known that office for a great deal of time, and though they've gotten on my nerves at many points, they are dedicated to finding the truth. If your brother is innocent, he's in very good hands."

"...I really want to prosecute this case, Mr. Edgeworth."

"I know you do, and I respect your wishes. I just don't believe it's possible."

"There has to be a way," I pleaded. My superior's brow furrowed, as it often did. He thought for a moment, until he looked up at me with an unreadable expression.

"I can't allow you to be the prosecutor… But I can allow you to work alongside the prosecutor, and work as their co-counsel. That's the best I can do, I'm afraid."

"No, that's great. Thank you… Thank you so much."

"I'm glad to see that works for you. I was planning on putting Prosecutor Gavin on this case, if that is okay with you."

"That's fine," I replied. Suddenly, I felt a whole lot more confident about this trial.

_My first trial without Keith. _


	6. Chapter 6

~Chapter 6~

POV: Apollo

"Wait… Do we even know the defendant's name?!" Athena asked once we entered the detention center.

"No…" I replied sheepishly.

"Trucy was talking about him… I can't quite remember his name, though."

"I'm sure we'll find him."

We walked from window to window, glancing at the faces behind the bulletproof glass. There weren't many teenagers there, and none of them looked remotely similar to the prosecutor.

"Argh! I'll bet he's in for questioning," Athena mumbled.

"Who are you looking for?" I looked around for a police officer, but instead the owner of the voice was lounging in a questioning chair.

"We aren't quite sure, actually…" I replied. "Their last name is probably Barnett."

"Are you looking for Dylan Barnett?"

"Oh, yeah!" Athena exclaimed.

"Uh, that would be me, actually," he responded. I took a moment to look him over- he didn't look remotely similar to his sister. _Well, the glasses are the same. And the eyes… And the freckles… And the nose… And pretty much everything except for his hair color, and the fact that he can smile._

Well. I felt brilliant.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Dylan! I'm Athena Cykes, and this is Apollo Justice! We're here to take on your defense."

"Oh. I've heard a lot about you from Trucy," he replied.

"Can you tell us about what happened today?" I asked.

"Well… Amber had a trial today, so I went to her office and hung out there until she got back. She was pretty grumpy." My bracelet tightened as I saw, not Dylan's, but Athena's fist clench. _What happened at that trail?! _"Well, Keith was trying to cheer her up, and Amber sent him down to the basement to leave some evidence there."

"Wait… For the trial? I thought there was an evidence room in the police department," I replied.

"My sister has a safe in her office that she keeps evidence in. Once the trial's over, all the prosecutors take the evidence down to the basement, and leave it there to be organized in the evidence room."

"Oh, that makes sense," I responded.

"Well, after about ten minutes, he didn't come back up, so my sister sent me to find him. I got into the basement, and it was pitch black. I turned on the light, since I didn't want to be stumbling around in a room full of murder weapons." Athena tried to stifle a laugh. "Well, the office was a mess. I saw papers everywhere, and there was even a broken table… With a person on it. I got closer, and I found Keith with a knife in the side of his neck… I, uh… I yelled for help after that." My bracelet tightened around my wrist.

"Did you do anything between finding the body and yelling for help?"

"Uh… I don't think so," he replied, tugging at his skull necklace.

"Gotcha," I said, feeling somewhat triumphant. "What about finding the body would cause you to touch your neck?"

"Ack!" The boy winced. "I guess you'll figure out eventually… But you won't be happy with me. I… I took out the knife. With my bare hands."

"Oh no!" Athena yelped. _Fingerprint data is NOT going to help our case. _

"I didn't kill him, I promise… But everyone thinks I'm guilty."

"Are the fingerprints the only reason?" I asked.

"No… There was a problem with the escape route."

"The escape route?" Athena asked.

"Yeah… There's a security camera on the stairs, and one in the basement. I heard something from Kay that the one in the basement wasn't operating, though. There's only two ways out of the basement: The elevator, and the stairs. The elevator was broken… The chain snapped. Someone probably cut it, since nobody was on the elevator when it broke. As for the stairs… I'm the only one who came out of the basement after 1:20, which was when Keith left our office."

"Did anyone go down that didn't come back up?" I asked.

"Nope, nobody... They checked the security tape."

"Couldn't someone have gone down the elevator before the murder?" I asked.

"Huh, I didn't think of that," he responded. "Wait… I just thought of something. If someone did go downstairs… They couldn't have known that he was going to go down there."

"Oh! You're right!" Athena exclaimed. "So… It wasn't premeditated?"

"That's one explanation," I replied.

"What other explanation is there?"

"I've learned to take nothing for granted in a trial… It saves you a lot of stress further down the road."

"Objection! You? More stressed out?! I didn't think that was possible!" she joked. I grumbled before turning back to Dylan. _It's not as if you make my life any less stressful. _

"Do you have any idea who would have had a motive to kill Keith?"

"Nope. Sorry." He seemed somewhat bothered by this.

"That's okay… We'll figure it out. What can you tell us about your relationship with Keith?"

Dylan smirked. "I'm not gay, especially not for a guy twice my age."

Athena burst out laughing, while I desperately attempted to regain some form of dignity. "Relationships don't necessarily have to be romantic! I'm in a relationship with Athena, but we aren't-" I was cut off by another burst of laughter. "All right, poor choice of wording! How do you feel about him?"

"That still sounds really sexual," Athena choked out between laughs. My face burned red.

"Just answer the question!"

"Heh, alright. Keith and I were really good friends… He was always a role model for me. When Amber was in college, Keith acted like a dad to me… A really cool one, not like some forty year old man who thinks he's cool with his 90's music." _But the 90's were the last decade of tolerable music._

"Aww, that's so sweet!"

"I'll admit, I was really upset when I found him… I cried. A lot." _Huh. He doesn't look like a cryer. _Taking a look at Athena, I remembered that she was, tears blurring her eyes but refusing to fall down her face.

"Dylan… You're innocent! I know you are!" Athena decided. "And we're going to prove it!" _Do you have to shout it out like that? _

"Thanks… I believe in you guys, too."

"We won't let you down," I promised, desperately hoping that I'd actually be able to keep it.

"Is there anything else you need to know?"he asked. _Let's see… I think we've got everything important. _

"I think we're fine for the time being… We'll be back if we have more questions."

"All right… Thank you." He grinned.

"Hey… When you get bored, try and talk to the bailiff. They aren't too smart, and it's funny to trick them," Athena whispered. _What did she do while she was in jail yesterday?! _

"Heh, I already convinced one of them that I have a severe cookie addiction, and if I don't get cookies every hour, I'll have seizures," he replied with a wide smirk.

"Aww, I should've tried that!" Athena moaned.

"I'm glad you didn't," I muttered.

"Aww, you don't get it. You haven't had the jail experience yet! It's a vital part of being a lawyer!"

"It seems a bit unnecessary."

"Hmph. You just don't understand."

"Well, Dylan," I said, ignoring Athena, "I think we should go and check out the crime scene. Try and find some… legal methods of entertaining yourself."

"Don't worry, Amber already gave me this whole spiel. You two just go do what you do… I'll be fine." Hearing my friend's catchphrase stung, but I shook it off- If Clay were here, he'd tell me that I was just fine without him, and that I needed to keep my eyes on the road; he'd often told me that you can't drive a car if you only looked in the rear view mirror (not that either of us had much driving experience).

_I'll be fine, too._

(O)

I knew that Ema was going to be on the case, but I hadn't really thought about the fact that I was actually going to _see _her for the first time in over a year. When I arrived at the crime scene, the two thoughts collided as I saw the only **real **detective I'd ever worked with.

"Apollo? Is that you?!" She asked, clearly shocked.

"Uh, I think so. I haven't seen too many other people with hair like mine," I joked.

"Hmph. Compared to what I've seen lately, yours is pretty normal." She smirked. "So, are you going let that girl stand over there silently, or are you going to introduce us?"

"I don't know, it's been a while since she's been this quiet," I remarked. Athena glared at me. "This is Athena. She works with me at the agency."

"Oh, Mr. Wright told me about you," she commented.

"Athena, this is Ema. She's a detective… She likes science. A lot."

"Nice to meet you!" Athena said, holding out a hand. Ema shook it once, and dropped her hand.

"You're in a good mood today, Ema," I noted.

"So are you."

"I am?"

"Yeah," Athena interrupted. "You haven't scowled since we got here. You know, during our first trial, Mr. Wright asked me to count how many different annoyed faces you made. There were at least twenty."

"I think finding a dead body, getting a hopeless case, dragging a ladder all the way into the Alderman's room, and having a police officer thrown at me are good reasons to have annoyed faces."

"But you always have hopeless cases," Ema teased. The sad part was that it was completely true.

"Speaking of hopeless cases… Can we see the crime scene?" I asked.

"We're having a difficult time with the beginning of the investigation. The forensics team is down there now…" Ema frowned, and I shot her a sympathetic look. "I'm still feeling pretty good though, since the fop hasn't shown up yet," she reassured me, presumably guessing my thoughts.

"Is he prosecuting the case?" I asked.

"I don't know. Mr. Edgeworth seemed to be having trouble picking out a prosecutor."

Athena flicked her earring. "Why's that? Did someone else want the case?"

"I'm not entirely sure. I'm just here to not check out the crime scene," she mumbled. She pulled out her infamous bag of snacks, which I'd been wondering about.

"What are those?" Athena asked.

"Snackoos," I answered. Ema was too busy chewing to answer. "Ema eats them every time she's annoyed, bored, or hungry, from what I can tell."

"What do they taste like?"

"These ones are chocolate flavored," Ema replied after swallowing. "They're my favorite. They have lots more flavors, though."

"Oh, right. Ema also throws them when she's especially annoyed." **Ka-tonk. **"Was that so annoying?" I asked, rubbing the shoulder that had been shot with a brown bullet.

"Nah. It just seemed fun." _For you… _

"Snacks aside, I'm assuming that we aren't allowed to go on the crime scene?"

"Your assumptions are right. I doubt you'll get to check it out until tomorrow morning," she replied, ending her statement by shoving a handful of chocolate snacks into her mouth.

"Wait," Athena said suddenly. "What time is it?"

"It was 6:20 ten minutes ago," Ema replied.

"Hey, Apollo! We can still go see Trucy's magic show!"

"Her shows are pretty good," Ema agreed. _Wait. When has Ema EVER seen one of Trucy's shows? _"I wish I could come… It's not like I'm doing anything useful here."

"It would be fun. Though Trucy does have a show every day… Maybe you can catch one with us after the case," I pointed out.

"Hmph. The fop will probably find some work for me to do between seven and nine every night," she grumbled, eating a few snacks. "If I can find the time, it would be fun, I have to say."

"Yeah, it would be great to see you. Well, we should get going if we want to see that show."

"All right, see you."

Once we were out of eyesight, Athena whispered something in my ear. "You seemed awfully happy to see her."

"Yeah, she's a good friend." _Why's she being so secretive? _

"Just a friend?" I thought about what that meant, until the implications hit me, followed by a mental picture of Ema acting romantic. It was terrifying, to say the least.

"Yeah. Definitely just a friend."


	7. Chapter 7

~Chapter 7~

POV: Ema

"Mr. Edgeworth? Did you need me?"

"Oh, yes. I wanted to speak to you before you began today's investigation. It seems that this case is going to be a strange one."

"Apollo's on the case. Of course it's going to be a strange one."

The prosecutor chuckled. "Mr. Justice does have a sixth sense for finding hopeless cases. Regardless, there is a strange situation with the prosecutors that I need you to be aware of. First of all, there are going to be two prosecutors on this case."

"That seems like quite a force, considering we're going after a little kid."

"Well… One of the prosecutors is that kid's older sister, Prosecutor Barnett."

"She's prosecuting against her brother?!" I gasped.

"She doesn't believe that he's guilty, mind you. She simply wishes to be involved in the case as much as she can. The head prosecutor is Prosecutor Gavin."

"No! Not the fop!"

Mr. Edgeworth sighed. "You two need to be able to work together. You two are better than most of the veterans in the force combined… You both care about the truth more than your personal goals. I need you two to be able to work together. Do you have any _real_ reasons for disliking him?" he asked. I opened my mouth to answer, but he interrupted me. "His choice in clothing is _not _a real reason."

"That's not the only reason! It's just a very good reason! In one of our cases he didn't bother to tell me that our key witness was blind, and that the defendant wasn't!"

"It would have helped if you were a bit more… Approachable," he replied. There were only two forces preventing me from screaming at him in that moment: My _entirely_ platonic admiration for him, and the fact that I wanted to prove him wrong.

"I guess the real reason that I started hating him doesn't exist anymore. I was angry that he proved Mr. Wright guilty of forgery, when I knew that Mr. Wright would never, ever do that."

"You're right, that reason doesn't exist anymore. I believe you simply need to try and see him in a different way. Detective… I'm going to give you an assignment that I know you're going to hate. I want you to make a list of twenty specific instances when Prosecutor Gavin did something halfway admirable. It doesn't have to be done today, you can give it to me in a month if it takes that long."

"And if I don't?"

"I'll keep assigning you with him until you can find twenty."

"Mr. Edgeworth! You can't do this to me!"

"Hmph. I only need twenty things, Miss Skye."

"Twenty is a lot!"

"Then you'd better get started."

This was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

(O)

**Number one: He actually showed up to the crime scene. (Although I hypothesize that Prosecutor Barnett is the cause of that).**

Sitting around the crime scene was boring. The room smelled like blood, and I had been on the verge of puking all morning. Not only was there blood, but it was _Keith's _blood, one of the few people on the force that I actually liked.

The two prosecutors weren't very exciting, either. The body had been removed, and replaced with a mannequin. Normally we would've drawn a line, but the bloody, broken table made it all but impossible. Plus, I don't think anyone on the force would be able to visualize Keith as anything as lifeless as an outline.

I watched Prosecutor Gavin, trying to find him doing something admirable. He was mostly just acting like his foppish self, talking to the much less foppish Prosecutor Barnett. I tried to listen to bits of their conversation, but I could only hear the fop's annoyingly loud voice.

"Ja… I understand. I've felt the same way, only my brother was really guilty. ...Ja. Trying to prove him guilty would be hard. But the more evidence that we find that proves him guilty, the less people will doubt the Not Guilty verdict he'll get." _Wow… That was surprisingly unfoppish. I guess I can write that down._

**Number two: He was encouraging Prosecutor Barnett about her situation with her brother.**

I still hated this middle schooler assignment.

"Fraulein Skye?"

"What?"

"We asked the forensics team to check a piece of evidence for us. If you aren't too busy, would you be willing to pick it up?"

"Hmph. This is the most boring crime scene I've investigated in ages. Yeah, I'll get it. What is it?"

"A knife."

"All right. I'll be back," I grumbled. I knew it would take at least an hour, given the distance between the prosecutor's office and the police department. "Oh, and make sure you don't leave the crime scene unattended. If you leave, I might have to kill you."

"Ach, there is a security camera in the room, Fraulein. I'd watch what you say."

"Hmph. I think that security would cover for me if you left a crime scene alone with a killer on the loose," I replied, walking up the stairs. "And that camera's broken, anyways."

Once I reached the top of the stairs, I heard that fop's annoyingly loud voice. "Would you care to have breakfast with me, fraulein? I doubt the detective will mind," I heard behind me. The two prosecutors laughed.

_Scientifically speaking, 153,000 people are going to die today. And that fop is going to be one of them. _

(O)

Precisely 63 minutes later, I returned to the prosecutor's office with a bag and a note.

"Have you read the note?" Prosecutor Barnett asked, taking the objects from me.

"No. I was busy trying to get here," I replied. It had been _quite _the adventure, and had included kittens, thunderstorms, and being mistaken for a stripper (I still couldn't fathom how that happened). She took the note from me and began to read it. The fop walked up behind her and began to read it as well.

"No… This can't be right," she murmured.

"This certainly supports our case, in the worst way possible," the fop agreed.

"What's going on?"

"Dylan's prints are all over the handle, according to this," he replied solemnly.

"Dylan wouldn't **do **something like this! He just wouldn't!"

"I'm sure there's an explanation…" the fop agreed.

I knew that it was probably a bad thing, but all that I could think was _Fingerprintsfingerprintsfingerprintssciencefingerprintsforensicsfingerprintsfingerprints _in response to their dismay.

"Do we even know if this is accurate?" Barnett asked, clutching the sheet. _We can find out!_

"Ja… It doesn't tell us much about the prints." _If only there were a scientist in the room to help out with this dilemma! _

"Uh… I hate to interrupt… But I might be able to help you with that," I blurted.

"Hmm? Did they tell you something?" Barnett asked, her brown eyes hopeful.

"Oh, no. Nothing like that… But I do know how to lift prints, and I have the tools with me." _There's no way that the fop's going to let me experiment on vital evidence. _

"It's been formally tested, ja? I suppose there's no harm in allowing a fraulein with a degree in forensic science to do her own investigation."

"Wait… You mean it?!" I asked, excited.

"Ja. It's not as if I could do much to stop you, anyways… You often test the majority of the evidence before the forensics team lays eyes on it," he chuckled.

"That can't be legal," Barnett noted.

"Ach, no worries, fraulein. The detective is a professional." _Did that fop just call me a professional?! _There was a feeling of pride that came with the comment, as I realized that maybe I was inching closer to having my dream job.

**Number three: Let me do forensic work on the crime scene.**

**Number four: Called me a professional, and treated me like I actually knew what I was doing for once. **

"So… Can I have that knife?" I asked eagerly.

The fop handed me the plastic bag of forensic wonder. I slipped on some gloves and took it out of the bag, laying the knife on top of it. I rummaged through my bag, listening to the wonderful sound of test tubes clinking together, and produced a travel-sized fingerprinting set.

"What else do you have in that bag, fraulein?" the fop asked, seemingly amused.

"You never want to know the contents of a woman's purse," I replied with a smirk. I opened the bottle of powder and used what I affectionately called the lollipop of science to coat the handle of the knife with chalky white powder. I then blew the powder off, creating a white cloud in the air. There were some very clear fingerprints left, and I took out a fingerprinting chart that I'd kept in my bag.

"Let's see… We should compare them with Dylan's first." I took out my chart, and began to look.

"I'm pretty sure those are his…" Prosecutor Barnett murmured. "It's not everyday that you see a double loop."

"Hmm… Yeah, those are Dylan's. So Dylan's left handed?" I asked.

"Hmm? No, he's right-handed," she replied.

"These prints are from his left hand," I stated. "And they're not exactly in the ideal stabbing position."

"Ach, that's not good for our case," Prosecutor Gavin joked.

"So what does that mean?" she asked.

"Scientifically speaking, people typically stab backhanded. He held the knife towards his body, which is not a good murder strategy. He's even holding it in his non-dominant hand," I replied. "There's no way he would've stabbed anyone in that position. Especially without wearing gloves," I replied.

"Then how did his prints get on the murder weapon?" she asked.

"The only way that his hand position makes sense is if he was moving the knife to his left."

"He didn't," Amber gasped. "He didn't take the knife out of the body, did he?"

"It would make sense," I replied.

"Why on earth would he do that?!" Amber exclaimed.

"People do dumb things when they're in shock. Gumshoe told me that Mr. Edgeworth once picked up a gun after someone was killed with it," I replied. The best part about Gumshoe was his stories, and he had lots of them. He sat with Keith and I during lunch occasionally. Lunch was a sacred time during a detective's day, which was always honored on afternoons when we weren't investigating. (We usually brought extra food for Gumshoe, since his packets of ramen noodles made the two of us feel bad). I briefly wondered who I'd sit with now, if Keith died. _He's not going to die! It's scientifically impossible! After all, he's the well-loved OC of the author of this story, and she wouldn't have the heart to kill him off! _

"...I suppose I can understand," she finally replied, breaking my chain of thought. _What were we talking about again?_

"AAAAHHH!" Our heads turned towards the stairs, only to find that girl from yesterday tumbling down the steps.

"This is why we don't walk backwards down the stairs," Apollo grumbled, offering her a hand.

"That doesn't usually happen!" she protested. The pair must have noticed us staring at them, because they both laughed awkwardly. "Hey."

"Where have you two been all morning?" Prosecutor Barnett asked.

"It's only ten o'clock, isn't it?" Apollo asked.

"Ten o' two."

"Prosecutor Barnett… We know what we're doing. Your brother's in good hands." _You say after criticizing your partner for falling backwards down the stairs. _

"He'll stay up late tonight for compensate for his slacking this morning," I teased. The best part about the joke was that it was completely true.

"He's not the only one," Prosecutor Barnett muttered. Something gave me the feeling that I'd be the only one sleeping tonight.

Nah, Gavin needed his beauty sleep, too.

"So, have you guys figured anything out?" Whats-her-face asked. _I know her name starts with an A. Ashley doesn't sound right… Ariel's a mermaid… Alisha isn't right… _

"Wait. Before we get into that," Apollo interrupted, "Who's prosecuting this case? Knowing from experience, Prosecutor Gavin never checks the crime scenes out when he's on the case-"

"I feel quite offended, Herr Forehead."

"Yeah, Apollo. You should apologize," I teased. _Heh. APOLLOgize. _

"In all actuality, I am the head prosecutor of this case," he said, a grin spreading across his face.

"Head?"

"Ja. Fraulein Barnett here is my co-counsel for the case." He seemed a bit proud about this.

"Wait… You're prosecuting against your brother?!" That-girl-whose-name-starts-with-A asked, bewildered.

"It the job of a prosecutor to get a guilty verdict, or to find the truth? Personally, I seek the truth. I desperately want to understand the truth behind this case, no matter what that truth may be. If my brother's guilty, which he isn't, then I won't hesitate to give him the punishment that the law requires," the prosecutor replied, an intense look in her eyes. _A simple "__Yes" would have sufficed. _

"Facing your doubts head on," Apollo noted. "I'll do my best to destroy those in court."

"I'm glad," she replied with a smile.

"Ja… I don't believe that anyone in the room believes that the defendant is truly guilty."

"I mean… He's the only person who could've done it, according to the evidence," I pointed out. I got several glares. "I don't think he's guilty, though! I'm just saying that you guys are going to have to do some serious proving in court."

"Which means that we should probably get investigating," Apollo commented.

"We found some evidence to support your case, actually," I told him. "Dylan's prints were on the murder weapon-"

"How the heck does that support our case?!"

"-**but **they were in an unnatural position. We suspect that Dylan might have pulled the knife out of the victim."

"Oh, he actually mentioned that," A-girl replied. "He didn't want to tell us, though. He was embarrassed that he did something so dumb."

"Well, that explains the prints," I said. "Unless our friend Udgey wants more proof, which I doubt."

"...Did you just call the judge 'Udgey'?" Prosecutor Barnett asked.

"...It's a long story. I'm not the only one who calls him that." _Demon Gant also says it… _

"Whatever. The first place to start would be finding an escape route for the criminal," Apollo said. _Hey! You can't just disregard me like that! I'm the only one who's allowed to be disregarding around here!_

Prosecutor Gavin pulled out a floor plan, and spread it out over a table. "Achtung. There's the elevator here, and the stairs here… Besides that, I don't see another way out, ja?"

"There could be an underground pathway under the floorboards!" A-girl answered.

"As crazy as she might sound right now, she DID have to prove in her first trial that a man partially flew off of a cliff as a non-existent yokai monster, while the rest of him stayed behind to watch wrestling matches and steal people's shoes," Apollo mentioned sheepishly.

"...What kind of cases have you been taking on?!" Prosecutor Barnett asked, mouth wide open.

"Herr Forehead has a sixth sense for finding interesting cases," the fop replied, smirking.

"I'm aware of that… But there comes a time when a case crosses the line from interesting to insane."

"I'm checking the floorboards. If anyone wants to help, they're welcome," A-girl decided, killing the very interesting conversation.

"Hey! Don't mess up the crime scene!" I called. "If you rip up floorboards, the forensics team is going to kill me!"

"Athena… Why don't we check the more logical places first?" Apollo asked. _Oh, her name is __**Athena**__. _

"Says the one who checks every trash can they find!"

"Hey, people throw away valuable evidence."

"Athena, there are many more ridiculous things to make fun of Apollo for," I added. He glared back at me.

"The most logical place to check is the elevator," Prosecutor Barnett said, looking towards the door.

Athena looked up at a security camera. "Wait… Was this on during the murder?" she asked.

"The batteries died," I replied. "No help there."

"Well, isn't that convenient…" Apollo grumbled. "What time did they die?"

"About noon. The woman in charge of the security cameras here put in a request to have them fixed when the janitor would go through the room… That didn't happen, obviously," I answered. _It feels good to know more than everyone else involved with the case. _

"I doubt it was an accident, Herr Forehead. It seems a bit too convenient," the fop said.

"The camera never caught anyone walking up to it," I replied. "Maybe it was just dumb unluck."

"Maybe," Prosecutor Barnett replied. "So… Are we going to check out the elevator?"

"Right… Wait. How are we supposed to get the door open?" Apollo asked.

"I have a crowbar," I responded. I got some strange looks. "It's not opening right now. There's something wrong with it. But if someone stronger than me wants to have a go at it with my crowbar, be my guest."

"Didn't forensics try and get through there yesterday?" Prosecutor Barnett asked.

"Yeah. That's why the door's no longer working," I replied.

"The entire forensics team has a combined IQ of 38," she complained. _And yet I still didn't get to be on it. _

"They were trying very hard to find an escape route. They didn't find one," I responded.

"There **has **to be an escape route. If there's no escape route, this case is done!"

"You're right. If your brother's innocent, which I'm sure he is, there is an escape route. We just have to find it," Apollo reassured her.

"We can still check the floorboards!" Athena called.

"I can't think of anything better to do," Apollo agreed. _I can think of about forty. _

"Just remember that it would already have to be loose, and nothing could be on top of it if it was used as an escape route. They couldn't have nailed themselves in," I told them. We dislodged floorboards for about fifteen minutes, finding absolutely nothing.

"This is hopeless," Prosecutor Barnett moaned.

"Fraulein, don't you worry. These two have a knack for doing the right thing… After they've done all the wrong ones," the fop laughed. "I think you could use a break- you haven't stopped working for six hours."

"Wait, what time is it?!" she exclaimed. _You're the only one here with a watch. _"Oh. It's one o'clock."

"Come on, fraulein. I'm denying your rights to the crime scene until you calm down a bit."

"You don't have that kind of authority!" she grumbled. "...Can we visit Dylan?"

"Ja, if it would make you feel better." She reluctantly stood up, and the two of them walked towards the stairs.

"We'll be back," Prosecutor Barnett called.

**Number Five: He managed to get Prosecutor Barnett to calm down. Or at least not freak out around me. **

"Apollo! I want food too!" Athena complained.

"You always want food. We need to check out these floorboards first."

"You two have fun with that. I need lunch **now**. Whatever you do, don't leave the crime scene," I told them.

"All right, we won't."

"How do I know that you won't? Last time I left you in charge of a crime scene, the body got stolen."

"Oooh!" Athena snickered.

"I won't, I learned my lesson. Go get your food," he grumbled. I laughed, and climbed up the stairs.

_So. McDonalds or Wendy's? _


	8. Chapter 8

POV: Klavier

I hadn't anticipated how long it would take for Fraulein Barnett to calm down. We didn't return to the prosecutor's office until four o'clock. I dearly hoped that Herr Forehead and Fraulein Ginger had come up with an escape route by now; our adventures in the detention center proved calming, but hardly useful.

Fraulein Barnett was scribbling on a pocket-sized notebook. "What's that?"

"Oh. I wanted to write down the facts of the case… I can't keep them all straight." She showed me the little composition book, which was filled with pretty, clear handwriting.

_**Keith got to office at 3:05, left at 1:20**_  
_**Body found at 3:30ish**_  
_**Elevator broke at ~3:10**_  
_**Lights off, turned on by Dylan**_  
_**Prints on knife from Dylan's left hand**_  
_**Elevator is not a possible escape route**_  
_**Camera in basement has dead battery**_  
_**Camera on stairs only caught Dylan**_  
_**No clear motive**_  
_**Floorboards not a possible escape route**_

"Ach… You aren't doubting Fraulein Cykes' intuition, are you?"

"There's nothing under those floorboards," she grunted. I felt the same way, though Herr Forehead often found the simplest answers through the most confusing means.

"It's worth a try." We walked down the stairs and arrived at the crime scene, where two attorneys and a detective were excitedly crowded around one small area.

"We found something!" Herr Forehead called.

"You mean I found something?" the ginger fraulein asked.

"Define 'something'," Fraulein Barnett said.

"Long story short, Athena was moving floorboards and Ema was spraying down the place with Luminol… And we found trace amounts of blood under the floor," Herr Forehead replied.

"That's… Highly irregular. Did you find it where you're currently standing?"

"Yeah… Pretty far away from the crime scene. I have to wonder if it's related to the crime at all… It's just a little bit of blood… Not enough to analyze for DNA," the fraulein detective answered.

"I am quite impressed with the thoroughness of your investigation, Fraulein," I told her, smirking a bit.

"You know what Mr. Edgeworth always says: Investigate every suspicious looking nook and cranny."

"Ja, I know." I took out a notebook, and turned to a list that the prosecutor himself had asked me to fill out.

**Twenty nice things I've done for the fraulein detective:**

**1. Allowed her to do forensic work **

**2. Complimented her forensic work**

**3.**

I took a pen, and wrote, "**Complimented her on her investigation**" down for number three. I noticed that I wasn't making very good time.

"Did you find anything else under the floorboards?" Fraulein Barnett asked.

"Definitely not an escape route," Herr Forehead laughed.

"Hey! We found the blood under there, it wasn't a waste of time!" the ginger fraulein called.

"Whatever. We still don't have an escape route," Herr Forehead grumbled.

"Maybe that's it! Remember how in the Phantom trial, Mr. Edgeworth proposed the theory that the Phantom stayed in the space museum until people started flooding in? There is no escape route, because the killer hid at the scene of the crime!" the ginger fraulein exclaimed.

"...You know, that actually makes some sense," Fraulein Barnett replied. "But how did they avoid being found? The forensics team doesn't always look through everything, but they're so random that I wouldn't want to hide at the crime scene. It's too risky."

"Maybe they hid under the floorboards!" she cried.

"You and your floorboards," Herr Forehead grumbled.

"Not so fast... I think the fraulein's onto something."

"Huh?" The fraulein detective asked, probably reflecting the thoughts of everything else in the room.

"If you had just stabbed someone, you would have blood on you, ja?"

"Well, yeah… Oh!" Herr Forehead cried. "They had blood on them, so when they hid under the floor, they got blood on the ground!"

"Yeah, there weren't any nails in that board," the ginger fraulein agreed, looking quite proud of herself.

"And since Dylan didn't have any blood on him, he couldn't be the culprit!" Fraulein Barnett cried, smiling slightly.

"See, fraulein? There's nothing to worry about," I replied, smiling.

"All right! Let's see if we can find any more evidence under there," the ginger fraulein called, and we began checking every loose board we could.

After an hour of searching, we hadn't found anything, but we were still in good spirits. I decided that the fraulein detective could finish the investigation, since I was feeling quite tired.

On my way home, I pulled out my journal in satisfaction.

**4. Made a major breakthrough in the case.**

(O)

**5. Showed up to the courtroom early with coffee and Snackoos so that we could talk about the case civilly.**

"Woah, Gavin! What's all of this?" _She didn't even call me a fop. I believe this constitutes as a success._

"I think both of us would benefit from being awake this morning," I replied. She nodded her head, and _smiled_, of all things.

"Uh, thanks. So, do you have any other witnesses, besides me?" She happily took a sip of her coffee.

"Nein. We didn't need one," I replied.

"Are there any blind defendants I should know about?" she grumbled.

"I apologize for that, fraulein. Nein, you know just as much about this case as I do, if not more."

"If you say so." She looked at me, as if considering what she was saying. "Why are you being so nice to me today?"

"I believe that we should work to improve our working relationship," I replied.

"Are you sure that Edgeworth wasn't involved?" she asked suspiciously.

"I never said that he wasn't. He simply reminded me of the importance of a good work atmosphere," I replied, smirking a bit. She smirked back.

"I don't know if I can stand not hating you," she replied.

I chuckled. "I'm sure that Herr Edgeworth would be happy to hear that," I joked.

"Hmph. Whatever."

"Prosecutor Gavin?" I looked over to see Fraulein Barnett clutching a suitcase.

"Ah, hello fraulein. Are you ready?"

"Not quite," she mumbled.

"Don't worry, you already have an idea of how the trial's going to end up," the fraulein detective encouraged her.

"I don't think I'll stop worrying until Keith's out of the hospital, our criminal is found, and Dylan's out of the detention center."

"Something gives me the impression that you'll keep worrying even then," Ema replied.

"Prosecutor Gavin? The trial is about to begin," a bailiff called.

"Achtung, baby! Let's rock this courthouse."

"Hmph. I think I'll stick to jazz."

(O)

"Court is now in session for the trial of Dylan Barnett."

"The defense is ready, Your Honor." Herr Forehead seemed confident today. The look didn't quite fit him.

"The prosecution is ready to rock, Your Honor."

"He's ready to rock. I'm ready to prosecute," Fraulein Barnett grumbled sarcastically.

"Prosecutor Gavin, this is a trial, not a rock concert. Did you take a wrong turn at Albuquerque?"

"Nein. It was a figure of speech, Your Honor."

"Oh, very well then. Your opening statement, please."

"Ja, of course. On December 21, the darkest day of the year, Herr Aiden was found in the basement of the prosecutor's office, almost dead. He is currently in a coma, and his chances of survival are slim." Fraulein Barnett clenched her fist on the stand and closed her eyes. _Ach… Probably not the best choice of words. _"A high-schooler, Dylan Barnett, was accused of the crime."

"What is wrong with our youth these days?" Herr Judge moaned. "All these lightbulbs and MTVs and HDTVs and LOLs are ruining them, I'm afraid." _I feel tempted to LOL at the moment, but I suppose that wouldn't constitute as professional. It seems that every child accused of a crime is never guilty in this court. _

"The defense believes that he's not guilty, of course," Herr Forehead replied. _As does the prosecution, but I suppose I shouldn't say that. _

"Of course," Herr Judge agreed. "Does the prosecution have a witness?"

"Ja. The prosecution calls the fraulein detective to the stand." Said fraulein detective walked up to the witness' stand, looking much less grumpy than usual. "Please state your name and occupation for the record."

"Ema Skye, Detective." _Wow, not a single witty comment. _

"Please testify as to what you discovered over the past few days, fraulein."

"That's what I'm here for."

_**Witness**_

_**Testimony**_

_**-Why we arrested Dylan-**_

_Well, first of all, Dylan was found at the scene of the crime, and his prints were all over the murder weapon. Second, in the security footage caught on the stairs leading down to the crime, Dylan was the only one to go down the stairs between the time that Keith was last seen and the time that his body was found. . There was no escape route except those stairs._

_**Cross **_

_**Examination**_

_**-Apollo and Klavier have a glare fight-**_

_Second, in the security footage caught on the stairs leading down to the crime, Dylan was the only one to go down the stairs between the time that Keith was last seen and the time that his body was found. _

"**Hold it!" **Herr Forehead yelled. "I understand that there was an elevator that broke about five minutes before the assault. It's possible that the culprit took the elevator down before the attack ever happened."

"Yeah, but the stairs are the only way out of the room," the fraulein replied. The entire conversation felt scripted, like a bad pre-concert speech.

"Who said that the culprit left?" Herr Forehead replied, looking somewhat confident.

"Do you mean to say that the culprit never left the crime scene? How could this be, Herr Forehead?" I replied boredly, going along with the script like a terrible actor. The fraulein detective frowned at me.

"At the crime scene, we found something really strange."

"Something strange? Why don't you point it out on the floor plans, Herr Forehead? Or would you like a penalty?" I joked. Now Herr Forehead was frowning at me, too. It felt good to dish out penalties, even if they were scripted.

"Right here!" He pointed at the map, across the room from the body. "Oh, crap, my finger slipped… I meant right here."

"Herr Judge, I think that's a penalty. He pressed 'present' on the wrong spot, and gave us false information," I laughed.

"Mr. Justice! Lying in court is perjury!"

"I wasn't lying! My finger just slipped!" he retorted defensively. "Now, if you'll look at where I'm **really **pointing, you'll see that I'm pointing right here!"

"The floor? What's so strange about it?" I asked. _I am having far too much fun with this trial. _

"We found trace amounts of blood under the floor here!" He called, pointing at me. I found it funny now that I could look at him without really fighting him- he was so determined about those little bits of blood under the floor.

"How did those get there? Was that the true scene of the crime?" I asked.

"Prosecutor Gavin! We're losing all of our credibility!" Amber whispered. "Please, be a bit more serious."

"The defense asserts that the real culprit hid here after the attack, and hid until they could make a getaway without being caught!"

"Ja, that is a possibility," I replied.

"After assaulting the victim, the assaulter was covered in blood, so they hid underneath the floorboards. That's why there was blood under the floor!"

"I have a question about this theory," Herr Judge interrupted. "Erm… What did they do with their clothes?"

"Come again?" Herr Forehead replied.

"Well… There's security cameras all over the building, right?"

"Right," Fraulein Barnett replied. "They're in the elevator, on every floor of the stairs, and at all the exit points. Even if security in the basement wasn't great, the rest of the building was more than covered."

"Well… If the culprit got blood on the floor, it must've been on their clothes. You didn't find any bloody clothes at the scene of the crime, did you?"

"Huh… That's a… Really good point," Herr Forehead replied.

"What the… The judge isn't allowed to be smart!" the fraulein prosecutor protested in a hushed whisper.

"Oh, did you not think of that?" he asked excitedly.

"Ja, Herr Judge. You've completely baffled us," I replied, smirking. Amber kicked my leg.

"We haven't found anything with blood on it besides that spot underneath the floorboards, and the actual crime scene itself," the fraulein detective mused.

"What are we going to do?" Amber whispered.

"He can't pass a verdict without finding an explanation for the blood," I reassured her. Surely she knew this already. "Herr Judge, I'd like to listen to the cross-examination again. Something bothered me."

"Very well. Witness?"

_Well, first of all, Dylan was found at the scene of the crime, and his prints were all over the murder weapon. Second, in the security footage caught on the stairs leading down to the crime, Dylan was the only one to go down the stairs between the time that Keith was last seen and the time that his body was found._

"**Objection!**" I yelled, enjoying the sound of my voice rocking the courtroom. "Dylan was the _only _one to go down the stairs during that time?"

"Uh, yeah. There was nobody else on the videotape."

"That's what bothers me. Herr Aiden is not on the tape!" I called.

The room was silent for a moment.

"Well… I haven't actually watched the tape," Ema began. "He probably is on the tape... But we could watch it now. I have it with me."

"I think that would be a good idea," Herr Judge replied.

"Keith left the office at about 3:20, so that would be a good place to start," the fraulein prosecutor added.

It was quite boring to stare at a wall for three minutes, but at 3:23, the lights turned off. Even in the dark, the camera still used a night vision feature, so everything was visible (and green). The video ended at 3:34, where we saw Dylan run down the stairs, and turn on the lights.

"Keith's not there!" the ginger fraulein exclaimed.

"I find the lights to be the most perplexing," I pointed out. "If there was nobody in the basement, the lights could not have turned off." _And then there was the broken elevator chain as well. _

"Can we rewind a bit?" Fraulein Barnett asked. "Someone had to be down there, and they were probably caught on tape."

"All right, gimme a second," the fraulein detective replied. She rewinded slowly, going from 3:20 back to 3:12.

"...Huh?" We all stared at the screen, and then all eyes were on me.

"Er… Why are you seen coming up at 3:12?" Herr Forehead asked.

"I'm not aware of that reason myself. I was in a trial at the time… Ask Herr Judge's brother. Incidentally, I won," I added, proudly.

"So what _is _this?" the ginger fraulein asked.

"It looks like someone hacked into the security system," Fraulein Barnett replied. "Meaning that they replaced that day's recording with another one. It would explain the sudden darkness at 3:23, despite nobody being downstairs to turn off the lights."

"If it's ok with you, Your Honor," the fraulein detective began, "I think we should send the tape in to be examined. There's obviously something fishy going on here."

"Oh, that would smell quite bad! Please, send it away," Herr Judge replied.

"Will do," the fraulein detective retorted dryly.

"Herr Judge? I'd like to request a recess while those tapes are examined. We can't move on without them."

"I agree. Does the defense have any objections?"

"No, Your Honor," Herr Forehead replied.

"Very well. The court will take a thirty minute recess while the video thingamajigs are analyzed."

(O)

Fraulein Barnett seemed quite stressed when we returned to the lobby. "All that worrying can't be good for you," I reminded her.

"I know… I'm just worried." _Really? I hadn't noticed. _"I tried to visit Keith yesterday… They said family members only, for the time being. I just want to see him," she murmured, squeezing her eyes shut. "He means so much to me… And Dylan's in jail, and this trial isn't going right…"

"The trial is under control, fraulein. Everything is going well so far. There have been much more trying cases in your career, I'm sure. Keith… I can't say that he will survive. I don't know that. But what I do know is that he's not dead yet. There's still hope."

"My dad… He was in a coma like this ten years ago. He… He didn't make it," she murmured. "The doctors said he had a 25% chance of dying, and now Keith has a 25% chance of living, at best!"

"Fraulein… Physically, Herr Aiden is in the top 25%. If anyone can make it through losing that much blood, it would be him. Has he gotten a blood transfusion yet?"

"Yeah. They gave him 2 liters," she replied. "He lost forty percent of his blood."

"Ach… That's quite a lot. Though I'm sure he'll make it."

"But what if he doesn't? I don't know if I can make it without him… He's really important to me," she replied, almost in tears. I'd seen that look before. My high school girlfriend had it when I told her I was going to study abroad in Germany. This was the look of a heartbroken fraulein.

"You have feelings for him, ja?"

"Feelings?"

"Ja, feelings. Romantic feelings."

"Wh-what? N-no, not those kinds of feelings…" Her face flushed red.

"If you say so," I chuckled. This crisis was, in my opinion, everything that their relationship needed so that they could realize their feelings for each other. Shy lovers had always amused me- Herr Forehead being my personal favorite. I'd never seen anyone as cute as Fraulein Woods drooling over a guy that much without him noticing before.

"Prosecutor Gavin, court is about to start," a bailiff told me.

"Achtung, baby! Let's rock!"

"I still favor jazz."

(O)

"Let us now reconvene," Herr Judge said.

"The prosecution is ready to rock, Your Honor. And prosecute."

"The defense is also ready to go, Your Honor."

"Detective Skye. What did analysis of the tape reveal?"

"As Prosecutor Barnett theorized, it's the same as one from two months ago, up to the point where the lights turn off. After that, it's safe to assume that it's accurate."

"Your Honor… Since Dylan was caught on video at the approximate time of the switch, he can't be the culprit," Herr Forehead pointed out. "This evidence proves it!"

"I must agree, it seems conclusive. Does the prosecution have any objections?"

"No objections, Your Honor," I replied.

"Very well, then. Will the defendant take the stand?"

Dylan walked up to the stand. His hair was messy, and he looked quite tired, but he had a smile on his face anyways.

"I declare the defendant, Dylan Barnett…"

**NOT GUILTY**

There were cheers, and somehow confetti was dropped. I wasn't quite sure who did that; legend said that Gumshoe was responsible, though I doubted that. Perhaps it was the fraulein magician.

"So… If the defendant isn't guilty, then who is?"

"Probably the security guard," Herr Forehead mused. "They would have unlimited access to the security footage, and nobody would think anything of them sneaking in."

"That makes sense," Herr Judge agreed. "Who is this security guard?"

"Wait! It's not the security guard!" the fraulein detective cried. "She would never do something like that!"

"Who is it?" the ginger fraulein asked.

"Her name is Maggey Byrde."


	9. Chapter 9

**POV: Phoenix**

"BS!" Pearls shouted triumphantly.

"Argh… You know, this game isn't very fun when both players have magatamas," I grumbled, picking up my "7".

"Yes it is! And it'll be really fun once we get some more people to play!" she urged.

"Let's see. We have Apollo and Trucy, who can pick up on body signals, and we have Athena, who can read emotions, and we have Maya, who also has a magatama."

"Let the best truth-teller win!" she called.

I shook my head. "Just put down an eight."

"Oh. I have two eights."

"BS!" I shouted, just as the door to the agency opened.

"Boss! Watch your language!"

"We were playing BS!" I retorted. I saw Apollo laugh from behind the open door.

"Mr. Wright? Does BS stand for something bad?"

"No, no…. It stands for, er, business strategy."

"Business strategy?" Athena asked, cracking up.

"How was the case?" I asked, exasperated.

"We got Dylan a not guilty!" Apollo called, grinning.

"Already? That's pretty impressive."

"It helps when the prosecution is on your side," he admitted.

"Did you find the real culprit?"

"Well, we haven't proven anything, but a girl was arrested."

"Do you know her name?"

"Uh… Maggie… Maggie…"

"Byrde?! Maggey Byrde?!"

"Uh, yeah. Is that a problem?"

"I'm going to defend her," I decided.

"Do you know her?" Athena asked, clearly confused.

"I've defended her before… Twice. We're well acquainted, to be sure."

"Boss, I want to come too!"

"All right. We should go now- I'm guessing the trial's going to be tomorrow."

"Hey! What about me?!" Apollo protested. "I already know the details of this case!"

"Sorry, Apollo… But I've got to take this trial."

"Can't Athena sit out?" he protested.

"Apollo... I think you of all people could use a break," I told him.

"I guess..." he reluctantly agreed.

Athena and I turned to walk out the door.

"Hey, Mr. Polly. Wanna play Business Strategy?"

(O)

"Hey, Maggey. You still have that bad luck, huh?"

"I think I've regained my position as the goddess of misfortune," she mumbled. "You **are **Mr. Wright… Right?"

"Who else has that porcupine hair?" Athena asked. _Even SHE makes fun of my hair?_

"The last time he took on my case, he was a phony!" she growled. "He got me a guilty on purpose!"

"Mr. Wright!" Athena exclaimed.

"Someone impersonated me, and took on her case," I explained.

"Oh, like the phantom?"

"Err… He was much less talented than the phantom."

"What are you saying, Mr. Wright? He looked just like you!"

"...Right. Well, this time it's me, I promise."

"Are you sure? Because your assistant looks a little funny. Doesn't she usually wear purple?" she asked.

"Huh? I always wear yellow!" she protested. _If the only difference you can see between Athena and Maya is that Athena doesn't wear purple, it's no wonder that Tigre was able to impersonate me. _

"This is a different assistant," I explained.

"Wait… Apollo doesn't wear purple!" Athena protested.

"I had an assistant before you were even in high school," I told her.

"Wow, you're old!"

"...Well, Maggey. Can you tell me about what happened?"

"Of course, pal!" _Pal? Doesn't she usually say 'sir'? _"I was watching the security footage really carefully, until I was called to go to Mr. Edgeworth's office at 3:00. Mr. Edgeworth wasn't there, so I waited in front of his office for half an hour… Then I gave up and went back to watching the footage."

"You left the security footage _completely _unguarded?" I asked. I knew the answer already, but I was seriously hoping for the 1% chance that she might've left someone there.

"Uh, yeah. I didn't realize that there was going to be a crime in the basement…"

I sighed. "Do you know who called you to the office?"

"Uh, it was a girl. That's all I know. The voice was a little muddled through the door, but it was definitely a girl, pal!"

"If I brought you samples of people's voices, do you think you could pick which one it was?"

"I don't think so… It was muddled, pal."

"Was it a young girl? An older woman?"

"I already said, I don't know," she huffed. I decided not to press anymore- I wasn't going to get any useful information out of her.

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Athena asked.

"Hmm… I don't think so," she replied. I looked through my evidence, and I tried to look through anything she might care about. I saw a copy of Keith's medical records, which I hadn't looked through yet, as well as several other miscellaneous pieces of evidence that I didn't realize existed.

"Did you know the victim personally?" I asked.

"I talked with him from time to time, but I didn't know him too well. He's a friend of Gumshoe's."

"It's been a while since I've seen Gumshoe," I mused.

"Who's Gumshoe?" Athena asked.

"A detective," I replied.

"He's one of the greatest detectives on the force!" Maggey exclaimed. _Well, I wouldn't say that… _"He said that he wanted to be the detective for my case, so he could to everything he could to get me a not guilty…" She blushed a bit. _Will these two please just get married already, so I don't have to resist the urge to puke whenever I see them being romantic?! _

"Does that mean I get to meet this Gumshoe?" Athena asked.

"That's Detective Gumshoe to you, pal!" She replied. "Probably, if Mr. Edgeworth allows it." _That's Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth to you, pal._

"Cool! A real, live detective!"

"You're a lawyer, right? You've worked with plenty of detectives."

"Well… One was a phony, so he wasn't real, and the other one's in a coma, so he isn't really 'live', per se…" she replied sheepishly.

"Oh. Well, Gumshoe's a real live detective all right, pal!" Maggey exclaimed.

"Good!" We all stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"Well, we should get back to the agency and see if we can get a list of females in the force." I said finally. "See you, Maggey."

"I'm counting on you, pal!" she called, smiling.

(O)

"BS…" Apollo grumbled.

"Aww…" Pearls sighed.

"You two sound like you're having fun," I said when I entered the office.

"I'm not. Can I please take the case? I don't even have to be at the bench. I can just help investigate!"

"Apollo… You've been working non-stop for a week now. Don't you think that you could use a break?"

"I won't be able to relax until I know the outcome of the trial," Apollo complained. I was about to mention about how Apollo was acting like a four year old who was refusing to take a nap when the sound of the Steel Samurai filled the office.

"Hello?" I asked, picking up my phone.

"Uh, Daddy?" Trucy asked.

"What is it?"

"I wanted to watch Dylan's trial, so I was walking on the sidewalk… You know that one block, where all the apartments are?"

"Oh, where all the college kids live. Yeah."

"Well, a college kid threw a tv out of his apartment… And it hit me in the shoulder."

"Ouch. Are you alright?" I probably should have been surprised, but I'd learned to expect anything and everything with that girl.

"Well, uh… I can't move my left arm. Prosecutor Barnett is driving me to the hospital." _Prosecutor Barnett?! _

"Hotti Clinic? I'll be right over. Hang in there, Trucy."

"Yeah, the Hotti Clinic. Thanks, Daddy." She hung up, and Athena and Apollo stared at me.

"Trucy's going to the hospital... She probably broke something."

"Oh my goodness! Is she ok?!" Athena gasped.

"Eh, we've both seen worse," I laughed.

"Trust me, they have," Apollo mumbled. "Wait… If you're going to the hospital, that means you aren't going to the crime scene, right?"

"Hm. I guess so." Apollo's eyes reminded me of that depressed cat from the ogre movie Trucy liked so much, and I sighed. "You can have the case," I mumbled.

"Yes! Thanks, Mr. Wright!" he exclaimed. "Come on, Athena!"

"Uh… Apollo? I actually kinda want to visit Trucy."

"Athena, she's a Wright. She'll be just fine."

"Heh. She's all Wright," she laughed. "I still want to see her, though."

"Well, now I feel bad for not wanting to visit her," Apollo groaned. "Fine, I'll come too."

"Well, that works. I'm assuming you still want the case, though." Apollo glared at me, and I laughed.

"Allons-y! Trucy's waiting!" Athena called.

_Wait... If Trucy's in the ER, that means that I'm going to have to pay the hospital bills._

_Well, fudge._

(O)

"Hi, Daddy!" Trucy called when I entered the room. I hadn't seen a shoulder cast before: It wrapped around her whole stomach and half of her arm, like a long-sleeved shirt with only one sleeve. It was navy blue, and matched her cape quite well (which she was still wearing, of course).

"Holy Shinto!" Athena exclaimed.

"You can say the whole word, you know," Trucy laughed. "This isn't a K rated fic, after all."

"It seems like you're feeling good, Trucy," I told her.

"Yeah. It hurt at first, but now it's mostly just annoying. All of this for one little shoulder injury!" she grumbled, pointing at the excessive amount of cast that was covering her body.

A nurse laughed. "One little shoulder injury? Your shoulder was more blue than your cast."

"Eh, I've been through worse," she replied. I briefly wondered how she was supposed to get dressed and shower with the cast, but I didn't cast my concerns out into the open… Trucy probably already knew. _Probably. _

"Trucy, where did Prosecutor Barnett go?" I asked.

"Prosecutor Barnett's here?!" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, she drove me to the hospital. She's probably in the critical care ward, checking out Keith."

"Oh, you're probably right," I replied.

"Wait, she took you to the hospital?! Why? How?"

"Yes. I was hurt. She took me in her car." _That was a very vague answer, Trucy. _Considering the devilish smirk on her face, I assumed that was the point.

"Do you think we could visit her, boss?" Athena asked.

"I don't mind," I replied. "I'll stay with Trucy, though."

"All right. Apollo, do you want to come with me?"

"In a little bit. I still need to figure out what the heck is going on."

"Heh, good luck with that." She laughed and left the room. _Does she have any idea where she's going? _She popped her head back in the room. "Wait, where's the critical care ward?"

"Up the elevator and to the right," the nurse replied.

"Thanks!" She vanished once again. _I still doubt she knows where she's going._

"So can I hear an actual story?" Apollo asked.

"All right…" she conceded. "I was walking over to the courthouse to see Dylan, and figure out how the trial went. So I was walking down that road with all of the college apartments, like where the panty snatcher lives."

"Wesley Sicko?" Apollo laughed.

"Yup. Well, some college kid threw a tv out their window, and it hit me in the shoulder," she said nonchalantly.

"You had a TV fall on you?!" Apollo exclaimed.

"Yep. And then I was crying, and I couldn't move my shoulder… Prosecutor Barnett was driving down the road, and she stopped when she saw me. She drove me to the hospital… She said she was on her way here anyways, and she was glad to help her brother's friend. Dylan was there, too. He said he was the one who saw me."

"That's pretty nice, actually."

"Yeah, she's really nice when she wants to be," Trucy replied. "And then I got here… They had to X-ray my shoulder, and it's cracked in a few different spots." _That sounds expensive._

"Ouch," Apollo said, sitting next to her on the hospital bed.

"Like I said, it feels better now," she replied. She took off her hat and put it on Apollo's head.

"Hey! You'll mess up my hair!" he protested, though he didn't make a move to take it off. Trucy giggled. _And these two don't know they're siblings._

"It was hard to explain to the nurse why I had a bunch of folded pieces of wood on my back," she mumbled. "Apparently not everyone has a hidden Mr. Hat."

"I would imagine," Apollo replied. "Did they remove him?"

"Nope!" Trucy pressed a button, and Mr. Hat came flying out, shoving Apollo off the bed.

"Ack! What have I done to you?!"

"You seemed a little **too** happy that Mr. Hat might be gone," she replied.

"In that case, I'll just go and see a less angry patient," he laughed. "Athena's probably waiting on me."

"Aww, Polly! Stay just a little longer! You can sit next to me on the other side, so Mr. Hat can't get you!"

"All right," he replied with a smile.

I listened as they began to debate the need to go to Eldoon's Noodles: Was a case done when the defendant was found not guilty, or when the true killer was found? Despite Apollo's front of annoyance, deep down, I knew that he cared deeply for my little girl, and I smiled.

_I love my sort-of kids. _


	10. Chapter 10

**POV: Athena**

_Up the elevator and to the right… Up the elevator… Where the heck is the elevator?! _

I found the stairs, but the elevator was nowhere to be found. I decided that the stairs were just as good as an option, and I made it up all the steps without tripping once. I was a little too proud of this.

_To the right… To the right… _

I turned to my right, and walked all the way to the end of the hallway until I hit a brick wall. _Is there some kind of secret passage to get to the critical care ward? _I faced the wall, thinking, until someone came up to me and tapped me on the shoulder.

"Um… Did you leave your room?" A nurse asked.

"Oh, nope! I've eaten my daily apple!"

"...What?"

"You know, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. I'm perfectly healthy!"

"...If you say so. Are you lost?"

"I'm not lost! I know exactly where I am!"

"Do you know where you're going?"

"The critical care ward."

"Oh, that's on the other end of this hallway."

"I was told to go up the elevator and to the right!"

"...You took the stairs, didn't you? The stairs are on the opposite side of the hallway."

"...Oh."

"In case you decide you need it, we're offering a 40% discount on mental health care this month. I'd ask you to consider its benefits."

"I'm a psychologist! I can take care of my own mental health!" I stated proudly. The nurse looked at me almost fearfully.

"I'll see you soon," she eventually said, and walked away quickly. I followed her, since we were headed in the same direction. I eventually found myself in the critical care ward, and I looked in each window, trying to find Prosecutor Barnett. There were far too many rooms to do this in, however, so I closed my eyes and listened to the voices around me.

"I'm sorry, sir. She's dead."

"She's waking up!"

"Laura, please… Wake up!"

"I'm pleased to tell you that your son is going to be just fine."

"What exactly are you doing?" I blinked open my eyes to see that nurse again.

"Oh. I have really good hearing, so I'm trying to listen to the voices of the people in the hospital so I can find the one I'm looking for."

"I implore you, our mental health department is one of the best in the state."

"I can prove it! Just wait." I closed my eyes. "Some kid named Chris just woke up from a coma down the hall… Some lady named Miranda's mom just passed away… A girl named Julianna's boyfriend is begging for her to wake up… You've got a lot of people in comas in this department, huh?"

The nurse looked at me skeptically, before her walkie talkie started beeping. I listened to the voice carefully. "Chris woke up! Come to room 232 immediately!" She looked at me in disbelief, and walked down the hall quickly.

_Heh. I showed her. _I walked down the hall, trying to listen for Prosecutor Barnett's voice.

"Please, let me in. I'm not family, but I'm his closest friend. Please," someone begged. It sounded remarkably like Prosecutor Barnett, so I kept listening.

"We do allow friends to visit, but I'm afraid they can't be alone."

"I have my brother here."

"You know that's not what I mean. You need one of the hospital's psychologists in the room with you, but I'm afraid that they're both occupied with a particularly… pained patient at the moment."

My eyes snapped open, and I quickly walked down a corridor to my right, and then to my left, and discovered Prosecutor Barnett and her brother talking to a somewhat annoyed nurse. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation… I'm actually a psychologist; I'm here to see my friend who had a TV dropped on her." The nurse looked at me skeptically, and Dylan tried not to laugh. "Would it work for me to accompany her?"

"Do you have proof that you're a psychologist?" the nurse asked. I reached into my pocket and pulled out my wallet, which contained my phone, some money, and my psychologist's ID. She took the ID from me and analyzed it carefully. "I suppose this could work. You're going to need a walkie talkie, though." She handed me hers, and I smiled.

"Thank you."

"No problem." The nurse walked away, leaving me alone with a baffled prosecutor.

"Allons-y! What are we waiting for?"

"I'm trying to comprehend what the heck is going on," she replied.

"Come on, Amber! We're allowed in! Let's go!" her brother called enthusiastically.

"...I suppose," she replied. She looked at me suspiciously, but went into the room where Keith was. He was laying on a white hospital bed, bandages wrapped around his neck. He had an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, and an IV going into his (very pale) arm.

"Keith…" Prosecutor Barnett breathed. She walked up to the detective and ran her hand through his hair, and I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. He _had _to be okay. "Ms. Cykes… I need to know who did this to him." There was a lot of fear in her voice, and though I knew I wasn't going to get a great response, I NEEDED to know what was going on. She seemed more afraid of who would hurt him than the possibility that he might die, and it struck me as being strange.

"You think you know who did it, don't you? And you're scared," I stated.

"Yes," she replied simply.

Dylan gasped. "You know?"

"No. I just have… Illogical doubts." I was hit with a wave of confusion and anger, of fear and sadness: The same wave of emotion that I'd heard 7 years prior, that I couldn't understand. _We proved Dylan innocent, and none of her feelings seem to be directed towards him. Who else does she care about enough to be this hurt by her doubt? _It hit me like sleep: slowly at first, and then all at once.

"You think it was a suicide," I stated plainly. She gulped, and a single tear dripped onto the tile floor.

"No way…" Dylan gasped. "He wouldn't do that!"

"Exactly why I said it was completely illogical," she replied bitterly, wiping her eye.

"If Apollo were here, he'd tell you to cast all of your doubts out into the open. Don't be afraid of them."

"He… We figured out the day before that we'd sent an innocent man to death row, and he blamed his detective work for it… And then the next day, I was angry with him because he didn't do a thorough background check… He's already attempted suicide before. Twice. If he felt like a burden to me, he would be so upset… And then there's the evidence! The camera didn't catch anyone, and there's absolutely no evidence of a third person at the crime scene… And no bloody clothes were found anywhere! How the heck does someone murder another person and not get blood on them, when the cause of almost-death was blood loss?!" Both Amber and Dylan stood in silence, comprehending her bitter, terrified rant. _Come on, Athena! Think! _

"Keith wasn't wearing gloves, correct?"

"He hates gloves. He wouldn't wear them unless he absolutely had to. And there were no gloves found anywhere near the scene of the crime."

"How do you suppose that he stabbed himself without leaving prints on the knife?"

"Easy. He held it with the fabric of his shirt. He wouldn't want to get his fingerprints all over a piece of valuable evidence, would he?"

"Yet he would be willing to get his blood on it?" I countered.

"Maybe. I don't know how he was feeling," she responded.

"The table was broken. Do you think he just jumped on it until it broke?" I asked, throwing a punch from the other direction.

"The tables down there are pieces of crap. If his body just happened to fall on it, it would break. Easily." _Well. Maybe I need to punch harder._

"There's a fist-sized bruise on his jaw."

"Something could've fallen on him."

"I talked to him before the incident, and he wasn't all that upset."

"He had Borderline. He easily could've done something erratic in a sudden burst of emotion."

"The security camera footage was messed with. How do you think that happened?"

"It could've been a simple computer glitch, or Maggey Byrde could've hit a wrong key on accident. She's a bit clumsy, if you hadn't noticed." _There's got to be something else! There's got to be! _Yet my brain couldn't come up with anything else.

"He didn't leave a suicide note," Dylan pointed out.

"He might've assumed that nobody would care enough to read it," Prosecutor Barnett replied bitterly.

"Amber… Keith knew how much committing suicide would hurt you, after what happened to Dad." _Dad? What happened to their dad? _"If he thought you'd be better off without him, he wouldn't kill himself. He'd probably leave a note saying that he moved to Canada or something."

"I don't know what he'd do," the prosecutor mumbled.

"I hate to ask… But what happened to your dad?"

"No… It's okay," she began. _Wow, what's with the sudden change of heart?! Just two days ago, she wouldn't even tell me what happened to Keith, let alone her very personal backstory! _"My mother died while giving birth to Dylan. Her doctors were put on trial for murder… The case was prosecuted by Manfred von Karma, and his detective… My father. The doctors were found guilty, of course. Manfred von Karma had a 40 year trial win streak. Everyone was found guilty."

"Forty years?!" _Nobody can last that long! _

"Yes. In the last case before he died, von Karma prosecuted against Miles Edgeworth… My father didn't take that case. Edgeworth's detective took it, for some reason. I'm assuming you know who the defense attorney was?"

"No. Who?"

"It was your boss… Phoenix Wright."

"Whaaaat?! The boss took him on?"

"Yeah. Well… Your boss destroyed his win streak. Not just that… He found von Karma guilty of forgery, and murder."

"Woah!" I felt pretty proud of him, taking on such a talented forger and **winning**.

"My father… I went to find him. He was standing on the sidewalk next to the prosecutor's office. He was crying, saying that for twenty years he'd worked for a man who had used him to send innocent people to their deaths. I was nineteen… In college. There was nothing I could do. I told him that things would get better… They didn't. He… He ran into the road, in front of a car. It was going 45 miles an hour, at the least… He was brain dead after a couple of days of being in a coma."

"Wow… I'm so sorry…" I'd experienced the pain of not having parents and having to pull myself through college, but suicide was a different matter entirely.

"He committed suicide, knowing fully well that I'd have to take care of my six year old brother and make it through college, and spent most of the money that could've gone towards my college fund on the hospital bills." I could hear anger and sadness in her voice that finally seemed to be distinct, unlike the spiderweb of emotions that I'd heard earlier. Each one was piercing, but discernible.

"I didn't really know him," Dylan added. "I was six. But Amber had to work so hard…"

"And now, you're faced with another possible suicide," I said, finally piecing together her emotions like a puzzle that was missing most of the pieces.

"Yes… I am." Tears began to fall down her face, and Dylan gasped.

"Amber…" Dylan murmured. "Please don't cry."

"I'm sorry," she choked, wiping her eyes with her sleeves. Her mascara stained her blue suit coat black, and she pressed her arm to her side in order to hide it. "I just can't do this again."

"Uh, hey." The three of us turned around to find Apollo at the door, standing there awkwardly. "What can't you do again?"

"Apollo. We have a new assignment," I decided.

"Uh, all right."

"We've got to prove that this case wasn't a suicide."

"...A suicide, huh?" Apollo pressed a finger to his forehead. "Wouldn't the altered security footage prove that's impossible?"

"Not necessarily. The security guard is quite clumsy," Amber replied.

"Clumsy or not, from my recollection, those computers are SuPer Admin Restricted Desktop Access pass-protected."

"SuPer-Admin Restricted Desktop Access password-protected?! What?! This is madness!"

"No, Athena. This is SPARDA. Anyways, Mr. Wright was telling me about the computer systems just a moment ago, actually… He had a case that involved . Turns out, the only person who can change any existing data is someone with the master password. He was wondering how it was possible that a person managed to discover it without being caught."

"Well, who knows the password?!"

"Not Keith." He grinned. "Past that, I've got no clue. Generally the chief of police and the chief prosecutor know it, but both of them have solid alibis."

"How didn't I know that?!" Amber protested.

"Have you ever asked about the security system?" Apollo asked.

"Uh… No. But someone could've told me…" Her eyes lit up. "So this isn't a suicide?"

"Nope." _Props to Apollo, saving the day! ...Though he could've had a cooler entrance. _"I think we've got some investigating to do."

"Thank you, Mr. Justice… You too, Ms. Cykes." The prosecutor smiled.

"Uh, I should get back to the prosecutor's office, too. I got a text from Kay," Dylan said.

"Who's Kay?" I asked.

"She's a friend of Miles Edgeworth," Prosecutor Barnett replied. "She's traveled around the country with him."

"She's pretty cool. Well, I'm wanted… You know what that means," he told Amber.

"Of course. You should hurry." She smiled, and Dylan ran off.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Dylan does some special work with Kay at the prosecutor's office."

"Special work?" I asked.

"I can't tell you any more than that, especially after the assault and all." _Is that information __SuPer Admin Restricted Desktop Access pass-protected?_ "But you may find that his work will come in handy later." She smiled. _You could've just lied and said paperwork. Now I'm curious. ...Then again, Apollo would've caught on if she _**_did_**_lie. _

"Thanks, prosecutor," Apollo said. "We should be going now. We have a mystery to solve."

"No… Thank you. I… I'm ready to find the real culprit in this mess. I'm closer to the truth now."

"We'll find it," Apollo said. Amber smiled.

"I'll see you later. I'm going to ask Edgeworth to let me take over the case."

"Oh, wow! Good luck!" I told her.

"Thank you." She left Apollo and I alone in the room… Well, alone if Keith didn't count. He was motionless, and it broke my heart to see him lying there, unaware of the pain that Prosecutor Barnett was feeling.

"Prosecutor Barnett really opened up," Apollo noted.

"You have no idea," I told him.

"I wonder why she's so friendly to you now. It didn't seem like you two were the best of friends before."

"Yeah, it's strange." Looking at Keith's face, I remembered one of the last things he'd said to me.

_"Like I said before, Amber doesn't hold a grudge. Just give her something else to remember you for." _


	11. Chapter 11

**POV: Kay**

I hopped onto the Edgeworth's couch as if it were my own, kicked my shoes off onto the ground, and propped my feet up on the arm of the couch.

"That couch is expensive," the Chief Prosecutor grumbled.

"I won't break it," I reassured him. "So, what did you want us to do?" Mr. Edgeworth often called Dylan and I to his office so that we could do some snooping for him, and I assumed this was another one of those types of assignments. We were rewarded for our efforts, not that I needed anything in return (though I wasn't one to pass up fancy lawyer food).

"Well… Gumshoe is positive that Maggey is innocent, and I'm inclined to agree. According to Gumshoe's recollection of her testimony, the culprit is female. I'd like you two to investigate the females on the force, and report your findings to Prosecutor Barnett."

"...It was Kay," Dylan decided. I laughed.

"Heh, if I committed a crime like that, I'd have a much cleaner getaway. Plus, I like stealing the truth more than I like stealing lives. Those are really heavy to carry, and you can never put them down."

"Plus, I was with her at the time of the crime," Edgeworth agreed. "I know you were joking, by the way… In case you were unaware." _Only you would have to clarify that._

"Uh, all right. Do you have a list of the girls on the force?" Dylan asked.

"I do. I am confident that most of the people on this list would never attempt to take a life, but I am going to leave my personal bias out of it." He handed Dylan the list, and I looked at it eagerly.

**Prosecutors:**

**Franziska von Karma**

**Adrianna Means**

**Anna Turney**

**Misty Meanor**

**Louise (Lou) Pohl**

**Detectives:**

**Ema Skye**

**Kate Margana**

**Anita Clue**

**Miah Spye**

**Helen Earth**

**Baliffs:**

**Alli Loups**

**Miranda Ritem**

**Ally Katz**

**Joy Ryder**

"Which ones have alibis? Do you know?" Dylan asked.

"Meanor and Pohl were on trial at the time, as were Clue, Spye, and Earth... And all of the security guards were at their posts, caught on camera."

Dylan crossed out some of the names on his list, leaving Franziska von Karma, Adrianna Means, Anna Turney, Ema Skye, and Kate Margana. "All right, we've got 5 people to investigate!"

"I know Ms. von Karma and Detective Skye… I don't think either one of them is the culprit," I told him as we began walking out of the office.

"For all we know, the crime could've been an accident," He reminded me. "It wouldn't be that strange to figure out that a nice person accidentally almost killed Keith, and then they tried to cover up their tracks because they didn't want to face my sister's wrath."

"Hahaha, your sister is pretty scary when she's mad."

"All right… So how are we going to figure out who did it and who didn't?" he asked.

"Hmm… Well first off, we should question all five of them."

"Wait… Anna Turney is the one who's always on her phone, right? All you have to do is steal her phone, and check to see if she was texting at the time of the murder."

"Oh, right! So, you want to be the pickpocket? I can distract her."

"Not if it's in her butt pocket," Dylan grumbled. I laughed.

"Fine, I'll get it," I decided. "Just be as distracting as possible."

"All right." He poked his head in Prosecutor Gavin's office while walking down the hall, and found a bouquet of fangirl flowers in the trash. "Here we go," he said, picking it up. We climbed down two floors to where the lawyer's room was, and Dylan knocked on the door.

"The door's unlocked," she said. He opened the door and walked up to her desk, holding the flowers behind his back. Her desk was perpendicular to the door, so getting to it unnoticed looked relatively easy.

"Uh, there was a man downstairs who wanted me to give this to you," he said shyly.

"To me?" She looked at the (rather expensive) looking flowers, and smelled them. _Hahaha, Dylan got those out of the trash. _She seemed rather pleased with the scent anyways. "Who sent these?" She seemed occupied with the flowers, so I crawled silently across the floor until I was under her desk.

"Um… I'm trying to remember his name…" Dylan replied, obviously trying to buy me time. I reached for her pocket- she was wearing a skirt, so it was pretty easy to get the phone out without her noticing. _Aww, shoot. It's got a passcode. All right, this room number is 1004… Nope, that didn't work._

"What did he look like?" _Uh… On a phone, Anna would be 1661… Nope. _

"He was pretty tall… Like, about a foot taller than me. He looked like he'd make a good basketball player or something… You know, tall and muscular and stuff." _Argh… Maybe it's something simple. _I typed in 2222 and it miraculously was correct.

"And you're sure he sent these to _me?_" _Let's see… Texts… Who does she text the most on here?_

"I'm pretty sure there's only one Anna Turney in the building," Dylan mentioned. _Ooh, look. Someone in here's named babycakes. _

"Well, uh… That's unfortunate. I already have a girlfriend." _Girlfriend?! That's awkward. _I tried not to laugh, and I could tell that Dylan was struggling to do the same. I scrolled up rapidly, until I got to the texts from 2 days ago.

"He'll be very disappointed," He told her. "Darn, I'm still trying to remember his name…" _3:23… 3:24… 3:25… Yep, she was texting the whole time._

"It's ok, you don't have to." _**Wanna do something sexy at McDonald's tonight? **_I read. It took a lot of self-control to prevent disturbing mental pictures from popping up.

"No, it's going to bother me for the rest of the day if I don't remember…" He pretended like he was thinking. I shot him a thumbs up from other the desk. It was usually easier to get in than out, from personal experience, and Dylan walked over to the window, for which I'd thank him later. "What's going on out there?" He asked. The prosecutor stood up from her chair, kicking me in the shin. She walked over to the window, and as soon as her back was turned, I sprinted for the door as quietly as possible.

"What is it?" I listened to the rest of the conversation, which was pretty funny.

"Do you see those kids by that building down there?"

"What building?"

"The one by the weird looking rock."

"There's 5,000 rocks out there."

"Most of the rocks are stone gray. I'm talking about the cool gray one."

"...They all look the same to me."

"Argh, you just have no aesthetic taste. Mr. Edgeworth would be ashamed."

"What exactly was happening?"

"Oh. They were playing chicken in the street."

"...Chicken?"

"Yeah, chicken. You know, when you lie in the street, and the first person to stand up loses." _That was my game! _

"...What is wrong with them?! This is Los Angeles!"

"Eh, they don't look like they're very good. I knew one kid who was really good at rolling between the tires of oncoming cars, so he won every game. He did it on the freeway once… It was really funny. We posted it on Youtube, but it got flagged by a bunch of pansies who thought we were setting a bad example."

"Kids these days…" she muttered. "Well, I need to get back to work. Thank that man for the flowers."

"I will," he told her. He walked outside of the room, where I was waiting.

"How many shades of gray do you know?" I laughed quietly.

"About fifty," he replied, smirking. "So, what did you find?"

"She sent approximately 100 texts between 3:20 and 3:30. She's not the culprit."

"Cool." As we turned to walk down the stairs, we saw Prosecutor Gavin. "Oh, here's your flowers. Ms. Turney refused them, but says thank you anyways."

"What did you two do?" he asked, chuckling a bit.

"We had a little fun," I replied, grinning. He shook his head. "Oh, do you know where Detective Skye is?"

"Ach, I believe she's in the basement. She isn't on the current case any longer, though that detective is currently in the security room."

"Thanks, Mr. Gavin!" Dylan called.

"Ja, no problem."

We ran down the stairs in an all-out master thief vs. high school kid battle, which I won, of course.

"Woah! What's with the stampede?!" Detective Skye exclaimed.

"We were racing," Dylan replied. "I need to stretch my legs out after all that jail time!"

"Oh, congratulations, by the way."

"Thanks. So we were wondering if you had an alibi for the assault."

"Heh, you think I did it? Let's see… I had lunch with Keith that day, actually. I destroyed his fork. After that, I went to a trial with Prosecutor Gavin… I was in court, testifying about how the criminal left a handwritten blackmail note at the scene, which was analyzed. Oh, and he bled at the crime scene. And there were two witnesses."

"Were they guilty?" Dylan asked.

"The fact that you just asked that question shows how downright confusing criminals can be. Seriously, we need some more straightforward, non-confusing, interesting, forensics-oriented killings in this country."

"I wish you were more interesting and straightforward," Dylan joked. **Ka-tonk. **"Oh, are these chocolate?"

"I don't know. Those might've been the ones that I spilled some Hydroxyacelunodosetrase on. I wouldn't recommend eating it." He popped it into his mouth anyways, and she rolled her eyes.

"I guess you do have an alibi, then. That leaves us with what, three suspects?"

"Wait," I interrupted, looking at Dylan. "Didn't Mr. Edgeworth say that she didn't have a trial?"

"He didn't say that… He just didn't say that she did have one," he replied.

"Just ask Gavin," the detective said. "I really was at a trial."

"Huh. Maybe Mr. Edgeworth just forgot," I replied.

"Wait, there was a Spye, and a Skye. Maybe we heard wrong, or he mixed them up."

"Hmph. Mr. Edgeworth wouldn't get _my _name wrong. You probably just heard it wrong," she scoffed.

"Yeah, whatever. See you, Ema," Dylan called.

"Good luck, you two," she replied.

Dylan and I ran back up the stairs, and this time he beat me. It was only because I'm used to climbing up rope ladders, not stairs. I could beat him in a rope ladder race any day.

"Wait. Which floor were we going to?" I asked, huffing at the top of the 12th floor staircase.

"Uh… The closest one of the four, Adrianna Means, is on the 9th floor."

"Race you there!" I called, grinning.

_And Mr. Edgeworth wonders how I can eat so much and still be skinny. _

I know that I beat him, but he denied it anyways. I knocked on the door, and a quiet voice said, "One moment, please." We chilled in front of the door for about twenty seconds before the door opened, revealing a short girl with dark brown hair and stunning sapphire eyes. "What is it?"

"We're investigating the assault!" Dylan told her excitedly, trying to seem like a little harmless kid, rather than a threat. "Where were you at the time of the attack?"

"I was in my office, working on paperwork for a trial."

"Can we see this 'paperwork'?"

"I can't give out crucial information about a case to just anyone. I'm sorry."

"Do you have any proof that you were in your office?"

"I do not, unfortunately."

"Ooh, that makes you pretty suspicious, huh?"

"...I suppose? Though I am a friend of Detective Aiden. You kids need a motive."

"Well, what if it was an accident?"

"...From what I've heard, the victim was punched in the face. That's hardly accidental. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm quite busy at the moment… If you kids want to investigate, you should focus on the motive first. That's what sets apart all of the suspects in this case."

"Thanks, we'll keep that in mind!" I grinned, and she closed the door. "She knows quite a bit about the details of the case," I whispered.

"She talked more than usual," Dylan added. "Suspicious?"

"I'd say so." He circled her name on his list. "Now what?"

"Let's go see Prosecutor Whippy. I doubt she did anything, but this is a bias-free investigation," I replied.

"Floor 6?"

"Yep. She's the last prosecutor on our list."

Another race, another victory, another prosecutor's office door to knock on.

"Hmph. I didn't realize that the fools in this building were capable of knocking. You may come in." I opened the door, and the two of us walked in. "You two."

"Yep, us two," I replied.

"Is there a purpose for your presence, besides your own amusement?"

"Yeah. We were wondering what you could tell us about the incident two days ago."

"Does some fool suspect me?"

"No. We're just wondering what you could tell us."

"If you say so. Well, I was supposed to be assisting a new detective to the force over at the police department… Supposed to. The dippy dingaling of a detective showed up thirty-four minutes late." _That's…precise._

"When was she supposed to be there?"

"3:30, the approximate time of the attack."

"That's more than suspicious," Dylan noted.

"Yeah, there's a thirty minute long drive between here and the police department," I added.

"The single thing she lacks is a motive," Prosecutor Whippy agreed. "She only joined the force three days ago."

"Huh. I'll bet that was chaotic," I noted.

"Hmph. The prosecutor's office was busier than a fallen wasp's nest, and significantly more painful to be in. I had a case that day, and we needed to re-examine a crucial piece of evidence… It took three hours to examine that single piece of evidence, though I suppose it was worth it. The defense's argument was completely destroyed, and they ran out of the courthouse like a the whining wuss they were." _She seems proud of this. _

"Yeah. Definitely chaotic," Dylan agreed.

"The motive has been the most difficult thing to come up with. We think it might've been an accident… A well covered up accident," I said, refocusing the topic.

"That's a possibility," she agreed. "Ah. You two probably want proof of my motive, I'd assume? I have my parking ticket for the prosecutor's office. I left at 3:00, and returned two hours later to assist in the investigation." She produced a slip of paper.

"Thank you. Was the detective distressed?" Dylan asked, crossing out the prosecutor's name on his list.

"I whipped her once for each minute she was late. She was more than distressed," the prosecutor recalled fondly. "Though she did seem quite flustered when she heard about the incident."

"Who was this detective?" I asked.

"Kate Margana."

"I think we need to question her," I decided.

"Hmph. Good luck. She has the attention span of a rabid puppy."

"Thanks," Dylan replied. We walked out the door.

"So, I guess it's about time to visit the police department," I told him.

"Yeah. My sister's gonna have to drive us, though."

"Aww, I can drive!"

"Not legally." Dylan stuck out his tongue.

I huffed. "Fine. Where's your sister?"

"Probably the security office."

_3... 2... 1... Go! _

And we were off.


	12. Chapter 12

POV: Amber

The only explanation that I could possibly come up with was that the criminal had ESP.

They hacked into the security footage twenty minutes before the attack. They couldn't have known that Keith was going to come down. They didn't leave any evidence at the crime scene.

"There aren't any fingerprints," a forensic scientist (His name possibly started with a T) told me. "Maggey wears gloves, and the culprit did, too." They didn't leave any evidence outside of the crime scene.

"There's got to be something!" Mr. Justice grumbled. The pair of young attorneys had joined me after a failed attempt to discover any suspects, and now we were packed into a stuffy security office together.

"We still only have one lead: Someone discovered the master password, and they understood our computer systems well enough to know how to change the footage in minutes," I stated. "And then there's the motive: there **is** none. Dylan seems to think it was an accident of sorts, but Keith looks like he was punched in the face," I mused. It was a lot simpler believing that it was a suicide, but a lot more painful.

I could tell that the answer was right in front of me, but I couldn't find it, and it irritated me.

"Well, here's what we know for sure: There's no motive. The culprit's good with computers. They couldn't have known that Keith was coming down. It could've been an accident, but it seems unlikely," Ms. Cykes stated.

"**I've got it!**" I yelled, a bit louder than I should have. "The culprit was committing a crime in the basement, so they tried to cover it up! And Keith walked in on them, so they attacked him to prevent him from talking!"

"...In retrospect, I can't believe we didn't think of that earlier," Mr. Justice said. "But yeah… That makes a whole lot of sense."

"Now we just need to figure out what that crime was… And who did it," Ms. Cykes added.

"Amber! We've got a lead!" Kay and Dylan exploded into the room, huffing and puffing. _Well. That was some great timing._

"We've got one too. What's yours?"

"We have a suspect!"

"Really?" _Well. Now we just need to figure out what the crime was._

"Yeah! She's got everything but a motive."

"We just found our motive," Ms. Cykes replied ecstatically.

"No way!" Dylan cried. "We need to get to the Police Department, stat. Can you drive us, Amber? You can tell us on the way."

"Definitely."

"Hey, pal! You got something?" the detective asked. _Now he shows up. _

"I think so! I'll keep you in the loop," I reassured him. "That way, you can be the bearer of good news to Maggey."

"Really?! Thanks, pal!" he exclaimed.

Everyone was running but me, because it was entirely unprofessional. Mr. Justice caught on and slowed down to walk with me. "Do you need a ride?" I asked.

"Oh, uh… That would be great. Thank you."

"It's a good thing you all are small… My car is pretty tiny," I told him.

"I've gotten good at cramming into small spaces," he mumbled. I decided not to press. Fortunately, the security office was on the ground floor, so the trek back to my car wasn't much of a trek. I unlocked my car, and the light blinked.

"I call shotgun!" Dylan called.

"Dylan, we've got to fit five people in our car. You're small, so you should sit in the back."

"But I'm the tallest one here!" He protested.

"Don't worry about us," Ms. Cykes said. "We're fine sitting in the back."

"If you say so." I got into the driver's seat and turned the key. I backed out of the prosecutor's garage, taking my ticket on the way out. _Wow, it's 7:16? I didn't realize it was getting that late. _

"All right. Who's our suspect?"

"A detective named Kate Margana joined the force three days ago. She was supposed to be at the police department by 3:30, but she didn't show up until past 4," Dylan said.

"The amount of time it takes to drive from the prosecutor's office to the police department," I noted.

"Yeah. The problem is that she didn't know Keith at all," Kay mused.

"I have a theory, and it's the only one that makes sense. The criminal was doing some illegal activity in the basement, and was caught by Keith. The criminal panicked and attacked him."

"Oh, so they messed with the surveillance system to cover up their other crime?" Dylan asked. "What do you think that crime could be?"

"My best guess would be forgery. I can see a brand new detective forging evidence in order to build a good reputation for themself," I replied.

"That's awful!" Ms. Cykes cried.

"As most popular things seem to be. We've been getting so many corrupted Themis recruits that we don't even know what to do with them all," I mumbled. "Ironically, Professor Means' own daughter works at the prosecutor's office. The apple fell a long way from the tree, though. Prosecutor Means is one of the good ones."

"She doesn't talk much," Kay added. She was pretty talkative today, though. She actually does know more words than "Yes", "No", and "Objection!", after all."

I chuckled. "She's definitely a quiet one."

We were on the freeway now, and there was a particularly annoying driver in front of me. I attempted to pass them, but they sped up as I tried to get around them. There was a car tailing me, so I couldn't slow down. "What's that guy's problem?!" Dylan exclaimed.

I tried to speed up more, but the car next to me only got faster. There was a semi in front of him, so I figured that he'd give up and slow down… But he didn't, of course. He tried to swerve in front of me, and I slowed down in an attempt to give him room. I heard a screech against the back of the car as the other person who was tailing me hit the back of my car. Everyone in the back screamed. The other person had hit the back of the semi, and was now spinning towards me. "Hang on!" I yelled. I swerved to the right, barely missing the spinning idiot car, and swerved back into a free lane. Behind me, I heard a crash as the two idiots behind me smacked into each other."If there is a single scratch on my bumper, I'm pressing charges," I muttered, my heart beating.

Dylan stared at me wide-eyed, as did everyone in the back. "That was kind of amazing," Dylan said.

"Hmph. I'm used to dealing with idiots, both in and out of the courtroom." _Plus I got extremely lucky, but they don't need to know that. _

I looked at the semi truck, which was now to my left, and he was holding his hand up. At first I thought he was flicking me off, because my vision wasn't so great, but the visionary in the car saw it more accurately. "Is that a rock on sign?" Mr. Justice asked.

I laughed. "I still prefer jazz."

(O)

When we got to the police department, I walked straight up to the Chief. "May I speak to Kate Macadamia?"

"You mean Margana?"

"Most likely," I replied.

"Yeah, give me a moment." He pulled out a walkie talkie. "Kate Margana, report to the Chief."

"Hey look, the blue badger!" Kay exclaimed, pointing at the hideous light blue creature.

"I invented him," the Chief said, seemingly very proud.

"I thought Gummy invented him!" Kay protested.

"I came up with the concept… Dick just made him appeal to the masses." His pride was undented.

"Hey, Chief! You called me?" A peppy young girl walked into the room, clutching a pink clipboard. _So, we finally meet. _Her devilish green eyes pierced through her apparently cute appearance like a rabid bunny. Her dirty blonde hair was curly, and bounced as she walked, like soft-looking snakes. She wore a lavender dress shirt with a violet bow, the color of the bruise on Keith's face.

"These people wanted to talk to you," the Chief replied.

"Oh! Hello! I'm Kate." She held out her hand, and I shook it firmly. It was cold, like her heart probably was.

"We're wondering if you could tell us about what happened two days ago."

"Oh… With the assault? It's really sad! I just joined the force, and now someone's in a coma…" _Don't be fooled by her apparent innocence. She is a witch, and she needs to be hanged. _

"Where were you at the time of the crime?"

"Well… Heh heh. I was supposed to be here, but I was confused. I thought I was supposed to meet Prosecutor von Karma at the Prosecutor's office, not here. So I got to the Prosecutor's office at around 3:15, and I realized I was in the wrong place when nobody had shown up by 3:40, so I headed over here. Prosecutor von Karma was… Angry, to say the least," she whimpered. _She's lying. You need to find a contradiction. _

"Do you have any proof of your alibi?"

"Do you suspect me?" she asked, gasping. "I don't even know the guy who died! Talk about a terrible way to set a reputation for yourself at a new job!" she exclaimed. "Although I guess I don't really have an alibi. I was at the Prosecutor's office at around the estimated time of the crime, after all."

"Don't worry, we're just making our rounds," Dylan reassured her. "We don't suspect you any more than anyone else."

"Oh… Good." _Nice job, Dylan. Give her false confidence. _

"Are you working on any cases at the moment?" Mr. Justice asked.

"No… I still need to be assigned to a prosecutor." _Yet another reason why Keith needs to wake up. _

"Oh. Maybe I'll see you in court soon. I'm a defense attorney," he replied, smiling.

"Oh, really? Cool!" She grinned. Her teeth looked abnormally sharp and white, and her breath stank of mint, as if she were trying to cover up the smell of something she'd eaten earlier. _Maybe she's a vampire, and wanted to drink Keith's blood._

_...Or not, considering that most of the blood wound up on the floor. _Something disturbed me about the fact that that was my only argument against my illogical theory.

"So, what did you do while you waited for Prosecutor von Karma?"

"Uh, I stayed in the lobby for most of the time. I ducked out to use the restroom at one point, but I never left the ground floor."

"Huh… Now that I think about it, I think I saw you just before Dylan started screaming like a maniac," Kay mused.

"Hey! I'd like to see how you react if you found Mr. Edgeworth's bloody body!" Dylan protested.

"I heard that scream, too… It was terrible," the demon detective murmured. "I can't imagine how that would feel, finding your friend and thinking they're dead." _Kinda like your intestines are slowly being pulled out of your stomach, actually. _

"I'm all right now. Keith's not dead!" Dylan proclaimed.

The detective smiled. "That's the spirit. Well… Is there anything else you need me for? I can give you my phone number, if you want, so you can get ahold of me later. I want to help in any way I can."

"Thanks, that would be great," Mr. Justice replied. The young detective pulled out a pad of paper, and wrote the number 213-286-2516 on it. "Thank you."

"No, thank you! I'm really glad that I could help out. Well, I should get going. Detective Clue was teaching me how to play poker upstairs.

"You don't know how to play poker?!" I exclaimed. "It's one of the most crucial skills to have if you're on the force."

"Everyone keeps saying that!" she cried.

"Hmph. I could trump all of you," Mr. Justice proclaimed, quite boldly. _That actually wasn't that bad of a pun. I'm impressed. _

"Apollo! You play poker?" Ms. Cykes asked.

"Mr. Wright hadn't lost once in 7 years, so I learned how to play so that I could destroy his record."

"Did you win?" she asked.

"I did," he replied. _Note to self: Arrange poker game after trial. _

"Well anyways, I need to learn the rules still. See you!" She walked away, still clutching her demonic pink clipboard.

"She was nice," Ms. Cykes commented.

"Yeah, she's not the culprit," Mr. Justice agreed.

"Huh? How do you know?" I asked.

"I didn't hear a single decibel of discord," Ms. Cykes answered.

"And she didn't display any nervous tells," Mr. Justice added.

"But look at the evidence! It all points to her!" I argued.

"Not all of it. She definitely had the opportunity, but she didn't take it," Mr. Justice retorted. "Look, we don't want to draw conclusions too early. That's why your brother spent two nights in jail. Yeah, a lot of the evidence pointed to him- but we believed he was innocent, didn't we? I believe in Kate, too."

"...I suppose. But who else could it be?"

"Well, we still have two suspects," Dylan noted. "While we're here, I'd say we should talk to Detective Spye and see what we can figure out."

"Sounds like a plan!" Ms. Cykes called. _Wait! I still have my doubts! Keep Kate on the radar!_

"Indeed," I replied. "Chief, can you call down Detective Spye?"

"I sure can," he replied. "Detective Spye needs to report to the Chief."

"Thank you," I replied. We waited for a moment until a small woman with dark hair came into the room.

"Uh, did you need me?"

"These guys wanted to talk to you," the Chief replied.

"Uh, hi. Can I help you or something?"

"We're investigating the incident from a few days ago," I told her. "Can you tell us anything?"

"Oh, I was at a trial. Uh… Yeah. I don't know very much."

_And there remains a single suspect. _

"Oh. Well… Have you heard anything?" Ms. Cykes asked.

"Just rumors."

"Like?"

"Uh, I heard that a girl committed the crime. And… Uh… They think the security guard's innocent." _Tell me something I don't know. _

"Anything else?"

"Uh… Detective Earth and I were talking about how we shouldn't immediately assume that the culprit was a girl. The voice could've been recorded or something."

"...That's very true," I admitted. Pretty much everyone in the room stared at each other in silence. Sometimes, the most obvious answers were the hardest to find. _But if it's really a guy, our number of suspects rises by about fifty! _

"And suddenly, we all reconsider our careers," Mr. Justice groaned. _Maybe I would have made a good accountant. _

"Maybe we should ask Maggey again," Dylan said. "We want to make sure it's a possibility before we screw ourselves over trying to find more suspects.

"Agreed," Mr. Justice replied. "We should go over there before it's closed. _We do NOT have enough time for this… The trial's tomorrow morning! We NEED a suspect! _

"Well, thank you, detective." Ms. Cykes smiled. "We should probably get going."

"Uh, yeah. Anytime." _She's an awkward one. _As we walked away, Dylan turned to me.

"Can you take the freeway again?"

(O)

Since the detention center was very close to the prosecutor's office, I did use the freeway. Fortunately, there weren't any more incidents.

"Oh… Hello Ms. Prosecutor," Ms. Byrde said nervously. "Wait… Aren't you that assistant girl, and the other lawyer? What are you doing with the prosecution?"

"We're investigating this case together. The goal is to find the truth, after all," Mr. Justice replied.

"Well, the truth is that I didn't hurt anyone!" she huffed.

"We were wondering if you could tell us anything about the voice that called you upstairs."

"It was definitely a girl's voice. But it was muddled, pal!"

"Yeah… We got that," Ms. Cykes groaned. "What exactly did they say?"

"Well, she knocked on the door and said, "Maggey, you need to report to Mr. Edgeworth." And I said, "What did I do?!" and she said that I was getting a salary assessment, and that I should hurry up." _If she answered a question, it couldn't have been recorded! _

"So you didn't see them when you left the office?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Oh, I saw her… The back of her, at least. She was wearing a dress. That's why I was positive it was a girl." I began to cough.

"Are you ok?" Dylan asked.

"Sorry… I'm allergic to stupidity," I groaned. "That is crucial information, Ms. Byrde. You can't just leave that out!"

"Sorry! Nobody asked!" She grumbled. _Nobody needs to ask that question! You work in the police force! You should know this! _

"Amber… It's ok. Take a deep breath…" Dylan whispered. My eye was twitching. I didn't have the patience to deal with this kind of nonsense. I was about to lose it when my phone began ringing.

"Amber?"

"Who is this?"

"Mama A."

"Oh!" I felt dumb for not recognizing Mrs. Aiden's voice quicker. "...I'm so sorry about what happened."

"It wasn't your fault," she reminded me. "I was wondering if you had time to pop by the hospital tonight."

"Oh, I can do that. I'll be right there."

"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll see you in a few."

"Yeah. See you." My phone beeped, and I stuffed it in my pocket.

"Who was that?" Dylan asked.

"Keith's mom." The two defense attorneys looked at me in horror. "Don't worry, she just wanted me to swing by the hospital. You guys see what you can figure out about this mystery woman… I'll be back."

"Wait! I'm coming with," Dylan insisted.

"Come on, then," I replied.

(O)

One eventless drive later, Dylan and I were walking into the critical care ward. I turned to the right, and then to the left, until I found Keith's room.

"Amber!" Mrs. Aiden called. "And Dylan too!" She smiled, and I reluctantly allowed her to hug me. She was far too optimistic, considering that she was visiting her comatose child. "We have really good news."

"Really?!" I exclaimed.

"Come in here!" she replied. I walked into the room, where I unfortunately found Keith laying motionlessly. "Keith. If you can hear me, blink twice." His eyelids responded, and I gasped.

"He… He can move!" I exclaimed. "Keith, raise your hand." I thought I saw his arm twitch, as if he were trying to, but his eyes remained closed.

"He hasn't gotten there yet," Mrs. Aiden told me, frowning. "But the doctors said that his brain is obviously working."

"Keith. Can you blink twice?" I asked. I wanted to test this theory. Sure enough, he could. "What's ten minus seven?" He blinked three times, and I grinned. "I to the fourth power?" He blinked once. "48 minus six squared divided by four minus two?" He shut his eyes, and kept them closed. I laughed, and tears fell down my face for the second time that day. "He's not just capable of thinking!" I cried. "He's totally ok!" Mrs. Aiden was crying too, and Dylan had a huge smile on his face.

"He just can't speak, or move," Mrs. Aiden mused.

"Can he move anything else?"

"No… He can only move his eyelids. The doctors said that he's likely to make a full recovery, though… He should be able to walk and talk again."

"This is a miracle," I breathed. "Keith… I'm going to take your attacker down," I declared.

"Thank you, Amber. Please, do your best tomorrow."

"I will, I swear."


	13. Chapter 13

~Chapter 13~

POV: Athena

Maggey had to go back in for questioning- _by who?! The prosecutor's at the hospital, and the detective's still at the Prosecutor's office-_ so we were sitting out in the lobby, waiting for the Barnetts to return.

"They still aren't back yet," Kay mumbled. "I hope everything's okay."

"Me too," I murmured.

"I'm sure they're just fine. On a different note... Kay, who was that final suspect of yours?" _Awkward subject changes with Apollo. _

"The only one without a solid alibi was Adrianna Means," Kay replied.

"Means?" I gasped.

"Yeah. She's the killer's kid," Kay confirmed. "But… She's nothing like her father."

"But if she's the only one without a solid alibi, it'd have to be her, right?" I asked.

"Remember, the possibilities are endless," Apollo replied.

"You and your possibilities," I groaned.

"Hey, it's better than you and your floorboards."

"Speaking of floorboards… I still have to wonder why there was blood under there."

"Who knows? Someone could've cut themselves on a piece of wood while they were constructing the basement floor. Just because there's blood doesn't mean it's because of a crime."

"But we're attorneys! We have to make mountains out of every ant hole- it's in the job description!" I whined.

"It wasn't on mine," he mumbled.

"Hey guys… Do you want to walk over to the Prosecutor's office? There's still investigating to do, and I'm bored," Kay piped in.

"But Amber wanted us to wait," Apollo replied.

"We could always call her," I suggested.

"Do you have her number?" Apollo asked, unimpressed.

"...No… But I have Trucy's number! And Trucy has Dylan's number!" I cried.

"They're in a hospital. They aren't going to get one stitch of reception in a hospital," Apollo added.

"You could stay here if you wanted," Kay replied. "I'm going. There's no use in having all three of us stay here."

"I agree. Thanks for volunteering to stay, Apollo!" I called, grinning.

"Hey! You guys can't leave me all al-"

And the front door was shut.

(O)

It wasn't a long walk to the prosecutor's office, since Kay knew a few shortcuts. As we approached the back of the building, Kay pulled out a box that had been hiding under a bush, and opened it to reveal a rope ladder. "What's that for?" I asked.

"We're sneaking into Prosecutor Means' room." She grinned. "You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

"Nope, not at all!"

"Wow, a lawyer that's not afraid of heights?! Those seem to be getting rarer and rarer."

"Heh, I've never been common," I proudly replied. Kay hooked the rope ladder onto a… Rope, and began pulling on a different rope. The ladder raised into the air as she continued to pull, and after a few minutes Kay managed to hook it on a 9th floor window. "What happens if she's in her office?"

"Well… We have to come down, I guess." Kay decided. I shrugged, and followed her as she began to climb up the ladder.

9 stories is pretty high up. I started feeling a bit nervous after the second story- I wasn't afraid of heights, but I _was_ afraid that my hands would slip and I'd fall to my death. Luckily, we made it all the way up without anyone dying, and Kay slipped in the window. "Nobody's here," she reassured me. I climbed into the room as well.

"Couldn't we have just used the stairs?!" I exclaimed.

"I mean, we could have. But what's the fun in that?" She grinned, and I sighed.

"That was pretty fun," I admitted. Kay looked around, until she arrived in front of a large painting on the wall. It depicted a young girl with a graduation cap standing between her mother and father- Aristotle Means- in front of Themis Legal Academy. It was a beautiful picture, I had to admit, but seeing the Means family made me shudder. Kay mercilessly took it off the wall and leaned it against the couch. "What are you doing?"

"There should be a safe behind here…" she mumbled. "Maybe it's on the other side."

"Why are you looking for a safe?!" I exclaimed.

"All the prosecutors have one. They keep evidence in there sometimes. And money."

"We aren't here to rob her!"

"Yeah we are! We're here to steal the truth!" Kay exclaimed.

"You can't steal something that everyone should have access to. It's like hoarding food," I retorted.

"Exactly why we're stealing it! It's like we're a modern day Robin Hood- stealing from the rich and giving to the poor!"

"I wish I could buy the truth at the grocery store, though," I grumbled.

"If you could, you'd be out of a job," Kay retorted. She lifted another picture off the wall- this one was a framed dress- and put it down on the ground. "Here we go!" There was, indeed, a silver box inside of the wall.

"Um… How are we supposed to open it?" I asked.

"I've got the master key," Kay replied proudly. "The prosecutors here don't even know that it exists- which is why if we find anything suspicious, it would have to be in here."

"What if it was stolen, or lost? The prosecutor's office could be in ruins!"

"Heh. It's not as if anyone's ever made a grab for it," she replied, pulling a large golden key out of her hair.

"Wait… That's not just for decoration?" I asked.

"Oh, it is. Decoration… And protection." She twisted the top of the key, and it began to unscrew like a mechanical pencil. Once it had been twisted off, there was a small metal object on the tip. She pressed it up against the corner of the safe, and I heard a beep. The safe clicked, and she opened the door.

"Woah!" I gasped. "Is that a magnet?"

"Not really… I'm not quite sure how it works. The only technology I know how to use is Little Thief."

"What's Little Thief?"

"I'll have to show you later. For now, we have some truth stealing to do." She took a manilla folder from the safe and opened it. "Huh. This is from the case she's currently working on… It seems like tomorrow's the trial date."

"When did she start the investigation? Today?"

"Hmm… Ahh! That's insane!"

"What?!"

"She's had 3 full days to investigate!" Kay exclaimed.

"No way! In this day and age?! The poor defendant shouldn't have to stay in the detention center for three whole days, just waiting for their trial! Three hours almost drove me crazy!"

"Wow. Well, I guess this means that she got this case the day before the assault."

"Yeah… I still can't believe this." I shook my head. We looked through the files, trying to get a vague understanding of her current case.

"Remember, our goal here is to see if we can find evidence of another crime… Especially forgery. If anything looks the tiniest bit off, object. Just not too loud."

_All right… The victim died of blood loss due to being stabbed. The murder weapon seems to be this knife… Which has the defendant's fingerprints on it. I feel bad for the poor defense attorney taking this case. Huh. The victim had Sickle Cell Anemia. I remember learning that in Biology… It's when the little red blood cells look like bananas, right? _I continued searching through the document, not getting distracted whatsoever, until I found a crime scene picture. _There's no murder weapon in this picture. I wonder how they figured out that the knife was the murder weapon. _

"Shoot… We aren't going to be able to take these papers with us," Kay grumbled. "They're no good as evidence if we can't bring them to court."

"No hay problema!" I replied. "I use Widget to store evidence all the time. We just have to scan them really quick."

"Who's Widget?"

"I'll show you," I replied. I turned on Widget with my gloved hand, and Kay watched in awe. A holographic screen appeared in front of me, and I flipped through some apps, eventually opening the scanner. I held up each page to Widget, and each one was added to my case files.

"Woah! I wish Little Thief could do that."

"Widget's pretty cool, huh?" I grinned, stuffing the papers back into the locker. The knife was stored inside, covered by a plastic bag. It was definitely covered in blood, though there was almost none on the handle: I assumed that the killer had felt the warm gush of blood on his hand that I'd once felt, and the hand prevented too much splatter.

Suddenly, I could hear the doorknob wiggling. "We've got to get out of here!" Kay exclaimed in a hushed whisper. She opened the window and jumped out of it, descending the ladder with incredible speed. I followed her much more slowly, and shut the window on my way out. I stayed perfectly silent as I descended slowly, not wanting to be caught.

It was nice, seeing the ground getting closer rather than far away. By the time I finally touched the ground, I felt shaky and nervous. _If only Apollo had come with us. _Kay quickly got the ladder down and returned it to its hiding place. "So, what should we do now?" she asked enthusiastically.

"Uh… I kind of want to sleep now, actually."

"But it's only eight o'clock!" she exclaimed.

"Well, considering that I wake up at six each morning, I need all the sleep I can get."

"AM?! That's ridiculous. What do you even do that early in the morning?"

"Well, I eat breakfast, and I go jogging for forty five minutes… Then I drink some orange juice, take a shower, and I'm at work by eight."

"I think you had enough of a workout tonight to be able to sleep in tomorrow."

"If I don't run in the morning, I don't have enough energy to do anything. I've got to be up and ready to go!"

"Maybe if you slept, you wouldn't need the energy boost," she remarked. "Whatever. I don't know if there's too much we can do before the trial begins, anyways… We have our suspect, and we can't do much without her testimony."

"The truth will come out tomorrow, I know it. But first things first: We've got to prove Maggey not guilty!"

(O)

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. _

My feet hit the sidewalk rhythmically, like my own personal drumbeat. I was starting to feel a bit tired, so I tried to focus on something small to distract myself: _My neck feels a bit stiff from sleeping last night. I guess this is why lawyers aren't meant to sleep before a trial. _

The trial. I had a vague idea as to what happened during the assault, but so much was unclear that I didn't know what to do. I could trust my instincts as usual, of course. Yet the pain in Prosecutor Amber's heart showed me that this wasn't a case to be taken lightly. The sun was beginning to rise as my phone began buzzing. I pulled it out: It was from Apollo.

**From: Mr. Demon Lawyer**

**Hey, good news. I talked to Prosecutor Barnett last night (like you should have) and it turns out that Keith's likely to make a good recovery. **

**To: Mr. Demon Lawyer**

**Really?! That's awesome! :)**

**Hey, good news. I snuck into Prosecutor Means' office last night (like you should have) and we've got some evidence. **

I grinned, and stuffed my phone back into my pocket. I'd slowed down a bit due to the interruption, and now I needed to make up lost time if I wanted to make all five miles in 45 minutes. It was getting a bit brighter now, and the sky streaked with a vivid red, light pinks and oranges hiding in the clouds. It was beautiful, although a superstitious part of me remembered an age-old saying.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning.


	14. Chapter 14

**POV: Gumshoe**

"Maggey… I have to testify against you today. I… I know you're not guilty, pal, and I'm gonna prove it, but… it might not look like it." I didn't want this to go over like the last time, no matter what.

"Aw, don't worry about me, pal!" _I'm very worried about you, pal. _"I'm gonna be just fine, even with my luck."

"Are you sure, pal?" I wasn't sure how I felt about her lawyers- I didn't know them too well. They seemed all right, but they just weren't Wright.

"Yeah. Really, pal, you don't have to worry about me." She smiled, and I could feel my heart melt.

"If you say so," I replied. I didn't know those lawyers, but I was going to make sure that Maggey was safe. After all, I had the evidence. It was found late last night, after I'd searched for hours, and Prosecutor Barnett was going to let me present it. The defense wouldn't know what hit them! _...Well… They'll be pretty glad that something hit them, but it's still gonna whack them in the face. Kinda like how they throw candy at you during the Fourth of July parade._

"Hey, Detective." I saw Prosecutor Barnett walk up to me. She wore a skirt, which surprised me. She always wore pants around the office. _Always. _

"Oh, hello sir!" I replied. "Did you need something?"

"Well, I wanted to see if you were ready to testify. I figured you were, but this case has made me question everything," she grumbled.

"I've never been more ready, sir!"

"That's good to hear, detective." She turned to Maggey. "Good luck to you, too."

"Wait… Aren't you the prosecutor?" she asked.

"Heh… Nobody actually thinks you're guilty, you know."

"Then why am I on trial?"

"We didn't have any other suspects. The case had to go on, and you seemed suspicious enough."

"Sir… You could have just arrested me," I replied.

"You had an alibi. That would be completely illogical," she replied, frowning.

"Prosecutor Barnett! The trial's about to begin!" a bailiff called.

"I'll see you two in a moment. I wish you both the best of luck," she said to us.

"You too, sir!" I replied.

"Mr. Gumshoe… Were you serious about wanting to be arrested in my place?" Maggey asked. Something about being called "Mr. Gumshoe" made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

"Of course, pal. I… I'd do anything for you," I told her.

"Anything…" she murmured. She looked into my eyes, and I smiled.

I'd set her free, if it were the last thing I did.

(O)

"Court is now in session for the trial of Maggey Byrde."

"The prosecution is ready, your honor." The prosecutor's brown eyes looked calm, yet determined.

"The defense is ready too, your honor!" the yellow lawyer replied.

"Are you the defense team leader?" Ms. Barnett asked.

"I am!" she replied with a grin. "I won the coin toss." _Maggey's lawyers were decided through a __**coin toss**__?! I'm feeling less and less confident about these rookie lawyers. _

"All right, then. Your Honor, I'll go ahead and deliver the opening statement," she decided. "Yesterday in court it was revealed that the security tapes were hacked into. The immediate suspect was the person in charge of the security cameras, Maggey Byrde. However… The idea behind our court system is that the defense and prosecution will look at the case from different sides, and expose the weaknesses in each other's arguments… Correct? That's how the truth is revealed."

"Of course. I couldn't have said it better myself," the Judge replied.

"Well… As the prosecution, I tried to look at this case from the angle that the defendant was guilty. But no matter which way you look at it, the defendant is undeniably innocent."

"Wait… What?"

"The prosecution agrees with the defense. The defendant is not guilty. Of course, we have proof of this, which we plan to show."

"Wait… The prosecution is defending the defendant?!"

"Yes, Your Honor. I'd rather not waste time by pretending that I believe in her guilt. My job is to find the truth, not to prove her guilty."

"Um… All right? Then, uh, call your first witness, I suppose."

"Right. Witness?" She looked at me, and I proudly took the stand. "Please state your name and occupation for the record.

"Dick Gumshoe, I'm a detective at the local precinct."

"All right. Your testimony, please?"

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-She's not guilty, pal!-**

_There's no way it could be her, pal! First off, she doesn't have a motive. Second of all, there was a struggle between the victim and the culprit- the victim got punched in the face! But Maggey's a lot smaller than Keith, so Keith would've beaten her no matter what. Third, there's no evidence that she was at the crime scene. Fourth, she couldn't have hacked into the computers! _

"Hmm… It does seem as if she's innocent, but I'd like to be more informed of the facts before I make a formal decision. Um… Defense, cross-examination?"

"Of course!"

**-Cross Examination-**

**-Amber and Athena boredly lock eyes-**

_Fourth, she couldn't have hacked into the computers!_

"Objection!" the yellow girl yelled. "Could you elaborate?"

"Of course, pal! First off, there's a password to access the important files. Maggey could look at them live, but she couldn't see any of the past recordings without the password. Even if she figured it out somehow, it's still impossible. See, she doesn't really like gloves, but she has to wear them for her job. She was seen both before and after the crime with them on… But I saw that the doorknob to get into the security office was really shiny, so I had a forensics guy check it out."

"What did he say?" yellow girl replied.

"He said that there was evidence that the prints had been wiped. Now, if you were supposed to be in the security office, and you always wore gloves, you wouldn't wipe any prints, would you?"

"No, you wouldn't," yellow girl agreed. "But… Why would the culprit leave prints on the doorknob, and not on the keyboard on the computer? There weren't any wipe marks on that, if I remember right."

"We thought the same thing, pal. Plus, the security office door is pretty out in the open. People try to walk in there all the time, so there's lots of prints on there. Well, Detective Skye was there, and she thought that we should try to spray it with luminol- there were traces of blood all over the doorknob!" I declared.

"Woah!" yellow girl yelled.

I continued. "There was a water bottle in the office, and some little traces of blood on the floor. The culprit ducked into the security office before anyone could catch them red handed, and then used the water to wash their hands! Maggey keeps a box of clear plastic gloves in her office, so after she washed off her hands, she put them on, and deleted the incriminating security footage! Then, she used the water bottle to wash off the doorknob, and she might've used her shirt or a tissue to dry it off."

Everyone in the room stared at me in astonishment except for Prosecutor Barnett, who smiled calmly. The judge was the first to speak. "...And you came up with all of this?"

"Yeah, most of it!" I replied proudly. "I knew that Maggey couldn't be guilty, so I had to prove it!" I grinned, and looked over at Maggey, who was almost in tears.

"You did all of this for me?" she asked.

"Yeah. I said I'd do anything, didn't I?" I replied, smiling.

"Well… It does seem like the defendant is not guilty," the judge agreed. "I think it's about time to end this trial-"

"**OBJECTION!**" Prosecutor Barnett called. "Your Honor, we need to find the real culprit before it's too late! I request that we continue this trial until we find a likely suspect, at the very least."

"I suppose my grandchild doesn't get off of school for another three hours," he mused. "Does the defense have any objections?"

"No, your honor. We need to find this bad guy! Er… Girl."

"Why does everyone think that the culprit is a girl?" he asked. "I guess it's only fair, since usually men are accused, but I think I'm a bit behind on things."

"I have a witness who can explain that, your Honor," Prosecutor Barnett replied.

"Oh, good!" He grinned. "Please call them, right away!"

"Ms. Byrde?" the prosecutor called. Maggey walked up to the witness stand, though she seemed distracted, and kept glancing at me. _Did I do something wrong? Oh no… I called her small! I didn't mean to say that she was weak! Argh, I'm so dumb! Why did I even add in that detail?! I didn't need it! _"Please state your name and occupation for the record."

"I'm Maggey Byrde… I'm a security guard," she replied quietly.

"Please testify as to what you were doing at the time of the murder."

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-Who I saw…-**

_Well, I was watching the screens really carefully when a girl called me up to Mr. Edgeworth's office. I wasn't quite sure who it was, so I walked out of the office to see a girl wearing a white dress. I didn't see her face, but I went up to Mr. Edgeworth's office anyways… I was there for half an hour, I think. _

"All right… The defense can start their cross examination."

"Actually, I've already tried. She really doesn't know any other information," yellow girl grumbled. _Hey! Don't talk about Maggie like that! _

"So no cross-examination?!" the judge asked, bewildered.

"Nope."

"Then… Does the prosecution have anything to say?"

"Well, from this testimony, it's clear that the culprit is a girl. All of the females in the force had an alibi except for two- Kate Margana, and Adrianna Means. Both were seen at the Prosecutor's office around the time of the murder, and neither have an obvious alibi."

"The defense asserts that Adrianna Means was the true culprit!" yellow girl yelled.

"Why Prosecutor Means?" the judge asked.

"The defense has a witness, if that's allowed," she replied sheepishly.

"I don't object, Your Honor," Prosecutor Barnett added.

"Er… All right. The defense may call her witness," the judge replied. _It feels as if everybody already knows everything, and I'm stuck with no idea what's happening. _Maggey stepped down from the stand and sat next to me, and my worries dissolved. They came back when I saw a familiar face hop up to the stand.

"Please state your name and occupation for the court," Prosecutor Barnett called.

"Kay Faraday! I'm, uh… I don't know what you'd call me. A private investigator? That sounds good."

"Okay, Kay. Can you tell the court about your private investigation yesterday?" Yellow girl asked.

"Okay!" she replied, grinning. _What does Kay have to do with all of this?!_

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-What I found-**

_Well, I was asked to investigate Prosecutor Means' office yesterday. We suspected that the motive for murder might be forgery, so we attempted to obtain facts about her case at the time. The defense has electronic copies of these case files. The hard copies are currently being used in a different trial. _

"I have not seen these files," Prosecutor Barnett remarked.

"Neither have I," red boy grumbled.

"I haven't, either!" the judge called. "Can you tell us the information?"

"Yep!" yellow girl called. She pressed a button, and a holographic screen popped up. "What information do you need to know? There's a lot."

The prosecutor thought for a moment. "Can you give us a general overview of the case first?"

"Of course. Let's see… The victim, Dakar Kiss, was stabbed in the heart with the knife. The defendant is Jess Dye. Her fingerprints were on the murder weapon, though the murder weapon was found outside of the crime scene. The victim apparently had Sickle Cell Anemia as well, which made the blood clot a lot." She crinkled her nose.

"Where was the murder weapon found?"

"I'm not sure. We could easily ask the prosecutor herself. She's in a trial a few doors down."

"We can't interrupt a trial!" the judge protested.

"Your honor, if there is forged evidence being presented in that trial, then we have to," Prosecutor Barnett persuaded. "Imagine, a young girl being sent to death row because the prosecutor in her case was allowed to present forged evidence, and it's all your fault."

"Yikes! I didn't think of that!" he replied. "We must stop that trial immediately! The court is now in recess!"

_Wait… What? _The court spiraled into chaos as people flooded out the door. "Detective Gumshoe… What was that?" Maggey asked.

"I'm not sure. This feels like a Mr. Wright case, though."

"It sure does, pal!"

"You always are proven innocent in Mr. Wright cases," I remembered, smiling.

"You always help…" She replied. She still seemed distracted, and I couldn't help but wondering what was going on.

"You two make such a cute couple!" someone exclaimed. I looked up to see yellow girl grinning at us, her hands clasped together.

"W-what? W-we aren't…. We aren't really a couple," I stammered.

"Hm? But… You make each other so happy." She frowned, and I blushed.

"I'm just a lowly detective." "I'm just a lowly security guard!" we blurted at once.

"Of course you're both low. You've fallen for each other," she laughed. "Ms. Byrde, you like him, don't you?"

"Yes. Ack! I mean, no. No, not no! I don't dislike him and I don't think he dislikes me but I doubt he likes me that way since I'm so unlucky and it seems like everyone I care about gets shoved off of a cliff or falls out of a building and I don't want him to have to go through the same thing and I just can't like anybody or it just won't work!" she stammered. _Wait… What? _

"So if he liked you, you would date him."

"Yes! Wait, no! I can't date anybody! It just doesn't work out because of my dumb luck, and I don't want him to get hurt and-"

"Maggey… You make me feel like the luckiest man alive."

"Awwwwwww!" yellow girl added.

"But… You saw what happened with Dustin!"

"Hey, pal. I don't exactly have the best of luck either. Mr. Edgeworth ran away, and I was forced to work for the whip prosecutor! And I've had to testify against most of my friends, and one of them was kidnapped by an assassin. And then I thought I lost you, too…"

"Gumshoe…"

"We're both really unlucky, pal. But we both survive! That's why I think… I think you're amazing, Maggey."

"But… I'm nothing special."

"Come on, pal! You fell off the ninth floor of an apartment building and survived. You've been hit by all kinds of vehicles, you've gotten sick from almost every food on the planet, and you've lost every game of tic-tac-toe, and you're still alive! Other girls cry when they break a nail, but you never give up. You're the most special girl there is."

"But what about you? I don't want you to have the same luck as me."

"Hey, pal. It's impossible for both of us to lose every game of tic-tac-toe if we play each other."

"Plus, two negatives make a positive, right?" yellow girl butted in.

"So… You really like me?" she asked.

"I don't just like you, pal. I… I think I love you." She gasped, and smiled up at me.

"I love you, too."


	15. Chapter 15

**POV: Trucy**

"It's aboot time to render my verdict, eh? I find the defendant, Jess Dye…"

"**Hold it**!" I yelled, running into the room. I'd always wanted to do that.

"Eh? What's that?"

"You can't hand down a verdict yet! There might be forged evidence!" I called.

"See?!" A blonde girl spat. "I didn't do it!"

"Why do you say that?" the judge asked.

"Well, the assault that happened at the prosecutor's office… There was some forged evidence involved, and the prosecution is currently a suspect." Everyone was staring at me like I had no idea what I was doing- I was just a little magician girl with a half-body cast, spouting things that I didn't understand. I loved it when people underestimated me. When people expect you to pull a rabbit out of your panties, it makes it so much better when you actually pull a car tire out of them.

"M-me?" the prosecutor looked at me in shock. "I… I wouldn't…"

"If you're innocent, the evidence'll say so," I half reassured, half warned her. She bit her lip. _Note to self: she bites her lip when she's nervous. _My daddy walked into the room, as well as a few other people who weren't quite as fast as me. _Heh. If it weren't for me, the defendant would've been found guilty. _I got a weird vibe from the defendant, though- she didn't exactly seem innocent. _Maybe she forged evidence, and then gave it to the prosecutor so the prosecutor would lose her job, and she'd get an instant acquittal, like in Daddy's trial where Daddy lost his badge. Only that she was in jail, and she didn't do a great job at making obviously forged evidence. _

I walked back to the courtroom and took my place back in the gallery. There was this weird couple making out in front of the door, and I made a face.

Since I was apparently crippled, I got my own handicapped seat in the front row. Daddy and Dylan sat down on either side of me, even though they really weren't supposed to. I found it ironic that they were breaking the law in a courtroom, in the front row of the gallery.

People began to pour back into the room, including Polly and Athena. They took their seats, and I saw Miss Amber take her seat at the prosecutor's bench as well. The judge also came in, and tripped over his robes twice on the way up to his judgey seat thing. I knew the feeling- when I first got my blue cape, it was too long, and I tripped on it all the time. I was taller now, though.

"Court will now resume," the judge declared.

"The defense is ready!" Athena declared louder.

"The prosecution is also ready," Miss Amber declared not-so-loudly.

"Do we have our witness?" the judge asked.

"I do," Miss Amber replied. "Would you please take the stand, Prosecutor Means?" She took the stand without saying a word. "Please state your name and occupation for the record."

"Adrianna Means… Prosecutor," she replied simply.

"Do you know why you have been called to stand in court?"

"Partially."

"You are a suspect in the assault of Keith Aiden, and you are also suspected to have forged evidence. You have been called to testify about these claims."

"I don't… Why am I a suspect?"

"Testimony has revealed that the culprit was female, and you are one of two females in the force without a firm alibi. The other is also a suspect, but she only joined the force several days ago, so she would not have a motive."

"What do you mean by firm alibi?" she asked.

"They were either on security footage at the time of the crime, or they were at a trial," Miss Barnett replied.

"Wasn't the security footage altered? I don't think being caught on tape is a 'firm' alibi," she responded.

"Holy shinto! She's right!" Athena exclaimed. Everyone's face contorted except for Polly's. He just smiled.

"I thought about that last night, actually. I asked Ema Skye to go down to the forensics department and have them analyze the security footage more. The footage was altered… On the ninth floor. Now, which floor is your office on?" Daddy laughed behind me. He seemed proud.

She frowned. "The ninth."

"Exactly. The footage containing the security guards, who were caught on camera, showed no signs of being altered. Do you see why you're a suspect?"

"...Yes."

"Good." He looked at her and nodded his head, and the courtroom was quiet, so he looked around awkwardly. "Someone else can talk now." _Wow, he was cool for a total of ten seconds. I think that's a new record. _

"Right. Would you care to testify about your involvement in the crime?" Miss Barnett asked.

"I would."

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-My involvement-**

_I was in the building at the time of the crime, but I didn't commit it. I was researching the victim of my case in order to find a motive. I can't say that I have decisive evidence of my innocence, but you don't have decisive evidence of my guilt. _

"That doesn't give us a whole lot of information," Athena grumbled. _That's what pressing is for, silly! _

"All right. Is there going to be a cross-examination?" the judge asked.

"Yep," Athena replied.

"Very well. You may begin."

**-Cross Examination-**

**-Athena and Amber stare anxiously at each other-**

_I was in the building at the time of the crime, but I didn't commit it. _

"**Hold it!**" Athena yelled. "Um… Where in the building were you?"

"My office."

"Uh, ok. Was anyone with you?"

"No."

"What were you doing there?"

"Well…"

_I was researching the victim of my case in order to find a motive. _

"**Hold it!**" she exclaimed. "You were trying to find a motive for the defendant to kill the victim by researching his past?"

"Yes."

"Did you find one?"

"No."

"Oh… Ok. You can continue."

_I can't say that I have decisive evidence of my innocence, but you don't have decisive evidence of my guilt._

"**Hold it!**" she yelled. "You don't know that!"

"If you did, you would have presented it by now. I know that you haven't, because I'm not guilty."

"Argh! Am I that predictable?"

"Yeah."

"Yes."

"Pretty much."

"All right, I get it. Let's move on," she mumbled.

"That's the end of the testimony," Polly told her.

"Huh?! But there's got to be more!" She frowned.

"There's not. I did notice something pretty strange, though. You want me to take over?"

"Huh? Okay."

"All right. Prosecutor Means, would you repeat your second statement?"

_I was researching the victim of my case in order to find a motive. _

"**Hold it!** Did you use a computer?" he asked.

"I did."

"If that's true, then wouldn't you be able to check your internet history from the time of the crime?"

"No. I wasn't just using the computer. I was filling out paperwork as well. There very well be no computer data for the time of the crime."

"What kind of paperwork?"

"The victim suffered from a blood condition. I had to sign off on some medical papers so that I could use this information in court."

"**Gotcha!**" he called. "Tell me… Why are you so nervous about blood?"

"Hmm?"

"When you mentioned blood, you paused and bit your lip. Typically prosecutors are hardened to it by now."

"Oh… I suppose."

"Would you testify about that?" Apollo asked.

"I can, though I don't see how it's relevant."

"Mr. Justice… I have to agree with the witness. If this proves to be a waste of time, I'm going to have to end this cross-examination," the judge added. "I haven't seen any decisive evidence against her, and it doesn't seem like you have any."

"I am sure that this is relevant, your honor," came his confident reply. Miss Barnett didn't seem to share his confidence.

"Very well," the judge replied. "Witness, your testimony, please."

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-Blood-**

_I'm not really afraid of blood, it just makes me uncomfortable. _

"...Is that it?" Polly asked, exasperated.

"Yes," she replied.

"All right, the defense can cross-examine."

**-Cross Examination-**

**-Worried eyes look at each other-**

_I'm not really afraid of blood, it just makes me uncomfortable. _

"Is there an explanation for this?"

"Well, my father did stab a woman recently… I'm still grieving over that. Perhaps blood reminds me of him."

"Did Keith's assault cause you fear, then? That was pretty bloody."

"I wasn't aware that he was attacked until about an hour afterwards. By then, he was already at the hospital."

I leaned over to my daddy. "If she killed him, there's got to be a reason that she'd be afraid of blood. Maybe she's scared it would give away her identity, like the phantom!" I whispered.

"Hmm… That's a possibility. Although there isn't much evidence that could incriminate her. I'm assuming Athena would've said something if there was blood found in her office, and she doesn't have any obvious cuts from a struggle," he replied. Athena looked up at us… She had clearly heard us talking, and she was now staring at the witness, flicking her earring.

_She wasn't seen with blood, and she didn't bleed herself… Why is she afraid of blood? _

_**-Thought route-**_

_All right, let's review the facts. It seems like the witness is worried because blood might reveal her identity. Now, would that be her blood, or Keith's?_

_Well, it couldn't be her blood, since she didn't really bleed, and Keith's blood was all found in the same place. So it's… neither? It's got to be __**someone else. **__But who else has lost blood? _

_Oh! What about the victim of her case? Maybe his blood is incriminating... But how?_

_Well, she wasn't a suspect in his murder, but maybe his blood has something to do with forgery. That was the motive for the current trial, right? That's what Dylan told me._

**_The forgery involved the victim's blood._**

_Now, what seemed off about the blood at the crime scene? Would it be the body? I don't remember there being a noodle cart or anything strange when Athena mentioned it, and there was nothing all that suspicious about the crime scene… Oh! The murder weapon was found outside of the scene of the crime. __**The murder weapon seems suspicious.**_

_Was that forged? It had the defendant's fingerprints on it, and the victim's blood. If Prosecutor Means is afraid of the blood, then_ _**there must be something off about the blood on the murder weapon. **_

_Maybe the prosecutor dipped a knife that had the defendant's prints in the victim's blood, and then planted it away from the scene. Now, if the assault was related to the forgery, then __**the forgery must have happened at the scene of the crime. **_

_Now, if the forgery happened there, then maybe she's scared that the blood made its way into the crime scene. Was there anywhere that blood was found besides where the body was found? Wait! __**The blood under the floor! **__Maybe she was storing her forgeries under the floor so that nobody would find it, and then the blood spilled a little! _

_But wait… When Dylan told me about the blood under the floor, he said that there wasn't enough to DNA test. Is there any way to prove that the blood belonged to the victim without a DNA test? They could do a blood test, but it's not specific enough to match it to the victim, I don't think. What special properties did the victim's blood have? Wait! __**The victim had sickle cell anemia. **_

_**IF THE BLOOD UNDER THE FLOOR IS MADE UP OF SICKLE CELLS, THEN PROSECUTOR MEANS MUST BE THE CULPRIT.**_

"If the defense has no objections, I think this cross-examination is over."

"No! We're so close!"

"Unless you have a legitimate objection, she can leave," the judge replied. Athena moaned, and Polly looked a bit distressed- he was the one who'd asked for the testimony, and he'd received nothing. Miss Barnett looked like she was about to explode. The witness began to walk off of the stand, looking smug.

"**OBJECTION!" **I found myself on my feet with the entire courtroom staring at me. My uninjured arm stretched out towards the witness, and I realized what I'd done. There was no going back now.

"I know why you're afraid of blood, and I have decisive evidence that it was you who attacked Keith!" I exclaimed. Everyone in the room looked at me skeptically.

"You forged evidence at the scene of the crime: Specifically, the murder weapon. The murder weapon was found outside of the scene of the crime: was it found after, as well?"

"...Yes."

"The victim's blood was on that knife because you put it there! You stored it under the floor, where traces of blood were found. That means that you were there at the scene of the crime, and you have a motive to attack Keith!"

"How do you know that the blood belonged to the victim of my case? You don't have any proof of this… There just happened to be blood under the floor."

"The victim had sickle cell anemia. If forensic scientists analyze it, I'm sure that you'll find that it has sickle cells!"

The courtroom was staring at me, and I smiled and sat down. Dylan high-fived me, and Daddy grinned. "That's my girl," he said, loud enough for the whole courtroom to hear.

Everyone suddenly remembered how to move. "Quick! Analyze that blood!" "Who was that girl?" "Hey, that's the magician from the Wonder Bar!"

"Order! Order in the court!" the judge yelled, slamming down his gavel. "Witness… What do you have to say to this?"

"I… She's right. It… It was me," she replied solemnly. _Woah…. That was way too easy. There's got to be a catch. _The crowd erupted all over again.

"ORDER!" The judge yelled. "Is that a confession?"

"I did forge evidence, and I am responsible for Keith's coma… But I didn't attack Keith."

"Come again?" Polly asked. _I get the feeling something bad is about to happen. _

"I acted in self-defense."


	16. Chapter 16

**POV: Amber**

A poor court bailiff was currently on the receiving end of my wrath.

"She just can't _do _that! She just passed the guilt on to an injured person who can't defend himself, and he's going to wake up from a coma to find that he's being accused of attacking the girl who put him in a coma. That's not ok!"

"Hmph. Sounds like a bad case of the Mondays," a guy behind me agreed.

I turned around. "This isn't something to joke about, Keith!"

"Oh, I wasn't joking. Mondays are a very culturally solemn time. It's like a funeral for your social life that happens every week."

"Keith is- wait…! Keith!" I dropped my briefcase on my foot, and it hurt. Bad. At least, that's the reason I'd give if anyone asked why I was bawling. "You're okay!" I practically tackled him, and wrapped my arms around his waist as tightly as I could (which wasn't very tight), tears completely soaking his left shoulder. "How are you even here?!"

"I remembered how to move this morning," he joked. "It was kind of like sleep paralysis, but it lasted for like, two days. It was pretty boring, actually, being able to hear and see but not being able to move. I really wanted to move my head to the side so I could look at something besides the ceiling, but I couldn't really tell anyone that."

"How many movies did you quote?"

"Full movies? Only four. I couldn't remember that line from Finding Nemo, when they're swimming through the jellyfish… Did they say anything? That bothered me for at least two hours."

"I don't know. I don't watch kids movies."

"Nemo isn't a kids movie! It is a piece of moving art!"

"Gosh, I missed you." I hugged him tighter, scared that if I ever let him go that he'd get eaten by Bruce the vegetarian shark and die (not that I knew who Bruce the vegetarian shark was, because that was a childish thing to know).

"I know you did," he replied smugly.

"Prosecutor Barnett! What are we supposed to do now?!" Ms. Cykes walked up to us, looking more than just anxious. "This trial… Ahhh! Detective Aiden!"

"Hey, kid."

"When did you…!"

"I've been fine since this morning," he replied simply.

"That's amazing!" She grinned.

"Now we just have to deal with the fact that I'm completely and utterly screwed, right?"

"Heh… You heard about that?"

"Yeah. They think I did it in self-defense, huh?"

"You didn't," I stated.

"You've got a lot of faith in me, Amber. Yeah, I didn't try to hurt her." He frowned.

"The trial's about to start!" a bailiff called.

"Come on, Amber. We don't want to be late. Those who are tardy do not get fruit cup."

"Wait… You're coming with me?"

"Heh. The defense has a buddy, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but… You… You're _alive_." The whole concept was still brilliant to me, something that my brain simply couldn't wrap around.

"Yeah. I've been alive for about thirty years now."

"...All right. I'm ready for this. That chick is going down."

"...Chick?" He laughed.

"Shut up."

(O)

"Court will now resume… Prosecutor Barnett, who is that standing next to you?"

"The victim in this case."

"Very well. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Your Honor." My favorite thing about the judge was that absolutely nothing seemed to phase him.

"The defense is ready too, Your Honor!" Ms. Cykes proclaimed.

"Very well. Adrianna Means, I believe you wish to take the stand?"

"I would." She looked at Keith, and her eyes widened. Still she remained silent.

**-Witness Testimony-**

**-Self-Defense-**

_As the defense guessed earlier, I did forge evidence… But I knew the culprit was guilty! I didn't do it like other people, who only forge to make themselves money. While I was in the middle of the act, I was caught by Keith… He figured out what I was doing, and got really angry. He grabbed me, so I punched him, and he fell over. He broke a table when he fell, and a knife slid into his throat._

"That's not true!" I exclaimed. "You have no evidence!"

"Hmph. You're the one who needs evidence, the last time I checked," she replied.

"Something's wrong with her," Keith whispered.

"Well, yeah! She tried to kill you!"

"She's really nice, Amber… I don't know what's gotten into her."

"Well, we're about to figure out," I retorted.

**-Cross-Examination-**

**-Amber and Athena lock eyes intensely-**

_As the defense guessed earlier, I did forge evidence… But I knew the culprit was guilty! I didn't do it like other people, who only forge to make themselves money. _

"**Hold it!" **Ms. Cykes yelled. "How did you know that the culprit was guilty?"

"...I was her roommate in college. One morning, I found a human arm in my freezer, so I called the police and moved out."

"...A human arm?!"

"Yes. A human arm. I knew right away that she wouldn't leave any decisive evidence behind, so I had to create some, or another person would die." She looked downcast. "I… I always was taught that the end justifies the means… If I could prevent innocent people from dying, I'd break the law to do it."

"But what if she wasn't really guilty, and you put her on death row?"

"That's possible without forged evidence," she retorted, looking over at me. If she was trying to freak me out, it was working. "I'd never forged evidence before… But I couldn't allow a criminal to walk free." She was so calm about this, as if it were a logical deduction to break the law.

"Grr… All right, continue with the testimony."

_While I was in the middle of the act, I was caught by Keith… He figured out what I was doing, and got really angry. He grabbed me, so I punched him, and he fell over. He broke a table when he fell, and a knife slid into his throat._

"**Hold it! **The knife slid into his throat?" Ms. Cykes asked.

"Yeah. She never stabbed me or anything," Keith pitched in. "As the victim, I'll agree that all of this is accurate except for the fact that I was threatening. I grabbed her shoulders because she yelled at me and I was confused, but I never came close to hurting her."

"So the question is really a matter of whether Keith was being threatening or not," I thought aloud. "If he was really aggressive, wouldn't he have bruised your shoulder?"

"He didn't grab me all that tightly… But he was a lot bigger than me, and he threatened to hurt me, so I went with my gut reaction and punched him." _There's no way to take down this girl! _

"Your Honor, it is my belief that the witness is in a fragile emotional state and requires immediate counseling," Ms. Cykes commented.

"No! She can't do this!" I whispered to Keith harshly. "I'm not going to take down your assailant with some mood necklace!"

"Amber… The witness is fighting with psychology. If you go into a battle against a sniper with just a knife, you're gonna die. You've got to use all of your weapons, whether that sniper is 'cheating' or not."

"It's not real evidence!"

"What's the point of evidence, Amber? I thought it was to point to the truth."

"The defense may begin a counseling session, if there are no objections from the prosecution."

"We're here to find the _truth_, Amber."

"...No objections," I replied, cringing. I suddenly had the urge to puke, use the restroom, bleed out of my eyes, _anything _to get out of that courtroom. Ms. Cykes pulled up a screen and looked at it, analyzing each piece of testimony while whispering to Mr. Justice.

"You were a good friend of Keith's, right?"

"I was."

"I'd expect you to feel some surprise that your friend would attack you… But you don't seem to feel any at all."

"Ack!" She winced. "I… I…"

"And you don't seem very angry at him, either."

"Ngh…"

"Do you have an explanation for this?" she asked, pointing her finger.

"My emotions are useless! You think you can get information from them, but you can't! My feelings?! They're the fragments of the heart that broke when Dad killed someone! They don't fit together anymore!" she cried.

"Every emotion has meaning," Ms. Cykes replied simply. "And when a person's emotions don't line up with their words, it means that they still have something to say!"

"You need evidence!" she spat.

"**OBJECTION!** Humans are too complicated to be understood with fingerprint data and blood charts! Psychology is crucial to figuring out the complexity of criminals," came the amused reply of the man next to me. "Ms. Cykes, you said that, didn't you? I'm a fan of quotes." He grinned. "The evidence is clear. When shaken, only the truth will stand. I was shaken, and I got back up. But you? Your shattered remains are shattering all over again! Adrie… You aren't like your dad. You're so much better than him. So why are you letting him control you? Adrie… I forgive you. Please, just let go."

"Keith… You think you understand, but you don't."

"You know, while I was in a coma, I spent four hours quoting movies, two hours trying to figure out that dumb line from Nemo, three hours wondering what I wanted to eat when I got out of my coma, and the rest contemplating the facts of life. I spent a lot of that time thinking about the girl who sent me there. Your dad betrayed you? You didn't deserve him. Don't let him control you anymore, Adrie, or you'll be stuck in an emotional coma, contemplating the meaning of life and the jellyfish scene from Nemo!"

"Keith…"

"Adrie. One of the biggest lessons that Nemo taught me was to just keep swimming. You need to swim. P. Sherman, 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney. Don't forget where you're going."

"I'm going to jail," she decided. "Your Honor, I accept my guilt in the assault on Keith Aiden." _...It can't really be that easy. We go all this way, just to have her confess it all in the end. _

"...Hmm? Does this mean that the trial is over?"

"Yes. I'm guilty. No fine print." Her icy blue eyes were blurred with tears as she gazed at the judge with a piercing intensity. "I'm going to join my father, where I belong." _Apparently it's that easy._

"Adrie, you aren't him. Prove to him that you don't belong to him anymore."

"Keith… Thank you. Even though I'm going to jail… I feel free somehow." She smiled slightly, and her tears fell onto the floor.

"In that case… I suppose I'm going to render my verdict. Will… a defendant take the stand?" he asked sheepishly. Maggey Byrde walked up to the witness stand with a grin.

"I declare the defendant, Maggey Byrde…"

**NOT GUILTY**

Confetti fell from the ceiling, and this time I was positive that Detective Gumshoe was responsible. Maggey smiled up at him, and I resisted the urge to puke.

"Keith… We did it!" I smiled. _Dylan's out of jail… Keith's alive… And his assailant is in jail. Everything is back to normal. _

"We? Last time I checked, I was sleeping most of the time."

"Yeah, but you do that on all of our cases," I teased. He scowled. "You know I'm kidding. You're the best detective on the force."

"It doesn't feel like it…" he mumbled.

"I think you're a biased witness."

"So are you."

"I'm biased because the evidence is in your favor."

"I missed you while I was in a coma."

"I missed you, too." I smiled, and I could feel something in my heart that was unfamiliar. All I knew was that I never wanted to leave Keith's side again.

(O)

"Detective Aiden! That was amazing!" Ms. Cykes exclaimed once we were back out in the lobby.

"It was a group effort," he pointed out with a smile.

"Except Apollo didn't do much," she laughed. "Out loud, anyways. He was mostly there to make sure that I didn't completely and utterly screw up."

"See? That's a group effort," he replied with a grin.

"So, are you two going to celebrate?" she asked.

"I need a nap," I mumbled. "I haven't slept well for two days."

"I think I have the opposite problem," Keith laughed.

"You know, you could come over to the agency to celebrate Christmas tomorrow."

"...Oh! It is that time of year, isn't it?" I gasped.

"I think we should, Amber. Or are you going to be busy with paperwork?"

"...I think we can make a visit," I replied, smiling.

"Dang, Amber. What happened while I was out? Are you sick?"

"No. I think… I think I learned that trust and love win every fight… If you just keep swimming."


	17. Epilogue

**POV: Keith**

We did end up going to the Wright Anything Agency after all. Dylan tagged along to see Trucy, too, and it was surprisingly fun. There were some cookies that came out of a Trucy's panties, some terrible piano playing, and an overall feeling of joy.

A little girl walked up to me and Amber. "Um… Are you special someones?"

"Heh, no. We're just friends," I replied. However, Amber's face was about as red as Rudolph's nose.

"It doesn't look like it," she pressed.

I laughed. "Amber's a bit awkward when it comes to guy girl stuff."

"Hey!" she exclaimed.

"I dunno, you two really do make a good team," the ginger kid pointed out. I sort of expected for Amber to get angry or embarrassed, but instead she smiled.

"We do, don't we?"

Part of me wanted to think that Amber was flirting, but the rest of me laughed at that part of me for being so naive.

_**Ding Dong**_

"I'll get it!" the ginger lawyer called. "Oh! It's Simon!"

"Simon Blackquill?" Amber asked nervously.

"Aww, come on. You guys should get to know each other!"

"We're well acquainted," Amber replied.

"Blunt as ever, I see," he chuckled.

"I... I want to apologize for failing to prosecute your case properly seven years ago," she commented, downcast.

"You did your job quite well. It was I who abused the law in order to protect Cykes-dono."

He seemed kind enough, but Amber sill sort of looked like she was going to run away. I felt similarly.

"Congratulations on your most recent case," he added awkwardly. "I've heard much about it."

"Thank you," she replied. Everyone stared awkwardly until Dylan walked up to Amber and I.

"Hey, I want to show you something," he said.

"What is it?"

"Stand right in the doorway... Yeah, like that," he added as we found our places. "And now, look up." There was a piece of mistletoe there, and my face flooded with warmth.

"You know what you have to do when you're under mistletoe," he taunted. I met her beautiful brown eyes, which seemed to be asking _should we get this over with or run away now? _I answered her question by drawing nearer to her, giving her the opportunity to duck out if she wanted to. To my surprise, she didn't just wait, but she closed the distance. Our lips met, and I could just feel _her _with me, the one person that I cared about more than anybody else.

I'd pretty much gotten the best Christmas gift of all time.

The young girl turned to Mr. Wright and grinned. "Now you just have to do that with Mystic Maya!"

As the room erupted into laughter, I took Amber's cool hands in my own, and smiled.

"Trust and love win every fight."


End file.
